On March 9, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) celebrated its 45th anniversary and recognized the many contributions that its dedicated employees have made to advance miner safety and health.

The history of MSHA goes back to the Mine Act of 1977 when Congress established the agency and gave clear directions that the first priority and concern must always be the safety and health of miners.

Chris Williamson, the assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, says “Throughout the years, our agency’s employees have dedicated their careers to our mission – to ensure miners can return home from work each day to their families and communities safe and healthy. It is a privilege to serve alongside MSHA’s employees and use all the tools that Congress gave us – enforcement, compliance assistance, education and training, grants, outreach and rulemaking authority – each day to protect the nation’s miners.”

At this time, there are thousands of miners working in over 12,500 mines across the United States. They are an invaluable part of our country’s workforce and deserve our gratitude as we all reflect on the past 45 years.

We must also remember and honor the memories of miners whose lives were taken in accidents and the thousands of miners who suffered and died too young because of preventable occupational illnesses such as Black Lung disease and silicosis.

Since the Mine Act was passed, mining fatalities have dropped sharply as MSHA has promulgated and enforced mandatory standards and worked together with miners, industry, labor and other stakeholders.

As a safety and health management system, CORESafety makes mine operators and miners consistently aware of the hazards that exist daily on the job.

Educational efforts including CORESafety TV and the Take Time, Save Lives campaign from MSHA emphasize that many accidents can be prevented by taking just a few minutes – or seconds – to attach a harness, buckle a seatbelt or engage other precautionary measures.

CORESafety and the National Mining Association recognize the many accomplishments of MSHA and its employees on its 45th anniversary. We remain committed to working together on our mission to ensure that all miners return home safely at the end of every day.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

• NEWS RELEASE (English) – MSHA at 45 – click here.
• NEWS RELEASE (Spanish) – MSHA at 45 – click here.
• WEBSITE – MSHA – go here.
• WEBSITE – National Mining Association – go here.
• WEBSITE – CORESafety – go here.
• EDUCATION – CORESafety TV – watch here.
• CAMPAIGN – Take Time, Save Lives – go here.
• CAMPAIGN – Miner Health Matters – click here.