Groundman

Miner removed an area guard and got entangled in a tail pulley.

Texto original en inglés de la MSHA

On February 8, 2021, at approximately 1:15 p.m., Gregory L. Solomon, a 38-year-old ground man with approximately eight months of mining experience, died when he became entangled in the self-cleaning tail pulley of a belt conveyor that was not guarded. The accident occurred because the mine operator: 1) did not assure that the miner was working under the observation of an experienced miner until he completed his training, 2) did not assure guards were in place while machinery was operating, or 3) did not assure that power was off and equipment was blocked against hazardous motion before performing maintenance on machinery.

1. The mine operator did not assure that the miner received the minimum required training to safely perform his job, or that the miner was observed by an experienced miner while working until he had completed such training.

   Acción correctiva: The mine operator has installed appropriate equipment guards on all three of the belt conveyors enclosed by the area guard at the accident scene, and has completed a review of all other equipment guarding on the mine site.

2. The mine operator did not assure that power to equipment was off and equipment was blocked against hazardous motion before performing maintenance.

   Acción correctiva: The mine operator developed a new written procedure for cleaning and performing maintenance on conveyor belts. The procedure requires the power to the conveyor belt to be turned off, locked and tagged out, and tested to assure power is off before guards are removed and cleaning or maintenance is performed. The mine operator retrained all miners in the procedure. The mine operator has provided locks and tags for the miners’ use.

Lee el informe completo (PDF)

Hallazgos del informe final de investigación de la MSHA, que sustituye la narrativa preliminar anterior.

Actividad al momento del incidente

Handling Supplies Or Material

Subunidad / ubicación

MILL OPERATION/PREPARATION PLANT

Tipo de accidente

Atrapado en, bajo o entre objetos en movimiento o engranados

Fuente de la lesión

BELT CONVEYORS

Naturaleza de la lesión

CRUSHING

Parte del cuerpo afectada

TRUNK, MULTIPLE PARTS

Experiencia minera total

0 years

Experiencia en esta mina

0 years

Experiencia en este puesto

0 years

Grado de la lesión

FATALITY