MSHA
Dave Tahija
location: Butte, Montana, en route from San Francisco to Juneau
listening to: Train - Save me, San Francisco
registered: 1999.12.27
posts: 261
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I do have to put in a word about MSHA. Don't get me wrong; I've had my share of disputes with staggeringly petty MSHA bureaucrats but all in all I have to admit the program has done a lot of good.My father and uncle were blasted in a Butte mine in 1947, my father losing an arm and my uncle an eye, besides many other injuries, and the incident didn't even make the newspaper. When I was growing up in the 60s and working underground in the early 70s a death in the mines made the paper but it was about on the level of a traffic death, not a big deal except for the family.Mining accidents and deaths were that routine.At least in hard rock mines, fatality rates have dropped dramatically in the past 30 years or so and MSHA has had a lot to do with it. Many unsafe practices are flatly not allowed now, with serious fines and even criminal penalties for violations. When a fatal accident occurs, I'm here to tell you that inspectors swarm to the mine, investigate it thoroughly and are not shy about punishing anyone responsible. There really has been a change in attitudes about safety and MSHA has a lot to do with it.Again, the MSHA people can be very foolish and petty but still they've done a lot of good.
D
Dave Tahija
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I do have to put in a word about MSHA. Don't get me wrong; I've had my share of disputes with staggeringly petty MSHA bureaucrats but all in all I have to admit the program has done a lot of good.My father and uncle were blasted in a Butte mine in 1947, my father losing an arm and my uncle an eye, besides many other injuries, and the incident didn't even make the newspaper. When I was growing up in the 60s and working underground in the early 70s a death in the mines made the paper but it was about on the level of a traffic death, not a big deal except for the family.Mining accidents and deaths were that routine.At least in hard rock mines, fatality rates have dropped dramatically in the past 30 years or so and MSHA has had a lot to do with it. Many unsafe practices are flatly not allowed now, with serious fines and even criminal penalties for violations. When a fatal accident occurs, I'm here to tell you that inspectors swarm to the mine, investigate it thoroughly and are not shy about punishing anyone responsible. There really has been a change in attitudes about safety and MSHA has a lot to do with it.Again, the MSHA people can be very foolish and petty but still they've done a lot of good.
