Morton Salt Div/Morton International IncMining Incidents in 2008

Koepe man hoist was malfunctioning. Investigation revealed the ""resolver"" on lilly controller shaft was loose. Resolver was tightened and controller put back in ""sync"". No injuries; no other problems. Hoist ran on manual until problem solved.

Koepe man hoist malfunctioned. Lilly controller was out of ""sync"" due to bottom limit switch inoperable. Switch was replaced and hoist checked; back in service at 3:00am. Mine evacuated; no injuries; no other problems.

A PLC failure occurred to the PC for the hoist controls. The PLC program had to be re-installed. Mine evacuated; no injuries.

At approximately 4:50am the loading gate for the N skip became stuck, halting operation of the hoist. The hoist operator failed to follow established procedure to notify management, who learned of the problem at approximately 6:05-6:10am. Action was taken and the hoist became operable at 6:20am. No injuries or other problems.

A two-fold electrical problem occurred with the Koepe hoist. The lower landing stopswitch had a malfunction, and wouldn't allow brakes to release on manual. Also, the re-synch motor that controls the lily controller was not functioning properly. Mine was evacuated and hoist back in service about 1:45pm. No injuries.

During the normal weekly exams of the production hoist, it was determined that the North skip rope met the requirements of 57.19024 for retirement/replacement. The mine was evacuated (39 persons). No injuries. No other problems.

During shift change 1st to 3rd shift, the Koepe hoist stopped operating,was electrical problem & mechanical problem with lily controls.After re-adjustment of over-travel cam on the lily controller,hoist was back in service 7:40am.Mine evacuated,no injuries/other problems.Service rep's called to evaluate & check programming.

A mechanical problem occurred on the Koepe man cage. The overspeed cam that operates the overspeed contact was loose/not making good contact and would not allow the Koepe to function properly. The mine was evacuated of the 40 persons in the mine. The problem was corrected and Koepe back in service at approximately 3:30pm. No injuries; no other concerns.

The Lilley controller lost syncronization with the PLC controller. The brake switch and Lilley controller was out of adjustment. The mine initated a routine evacuation due to temporary loss of secondary means of egress. MSHA was notified at 9:50pm. 23 people were underground at the time of the failure. The hoist was returned to service at 12:25am May 1st 2008.

Brake caliper spring discovered to be broken on the northside brake drum counterweight linkage. Mine initiated a routine mine evacuation to effect repairs due to temporary loss of second means of egress. There were 49 employees UG at the time of the evacuation. MSHA notified at 11:07am. Hoist returned to service at 1:00PM.

The west brake canister packing gland failed preventing adequate air pressure on the pressure side to activate the spring release before the PLC controller timed out. MSHA was notified at 6:35pm. There were 17 employees underground at the time of the evacuation. The mine evacuation was complete at 7:35pm. The hoist was returned to service at 10:20pm 04/25/2008.

Koepe Lilley Controller Overwind Out of Adjustment. Called for routine mine evacuation due to loss of secondary means of egress. MSHA notified at 5:14pm. There were 18 people underground at the time of the evacuation. The hoist was returned to service at 5:50pm April 25th 2008.

Koepe west brake switch failed to activate before the PLC controller timed out.Called for a routine mine evacuation,temporary loss of secondary means of egress.MSHA was notified at 6:08pm.25 employees underground at the time of the evacuation.Evacuation was cancelled after the hoist was returned to service at 6:00pm.

The brake limit switch for the Koepe lily hoist access cage had moved due to vibration, causing the cage to stop. It took time to reposition them and adjust the brake cannister. Mine evacuated; no problems; no injuries. 15 persons in the mine. Hoist back in service at 6:15am prior to completion of evacuation.

Unknown electrical problem stopped the production hoist. Extensive investigation revealed a bolt holding an electrical contact had ""stripped"" and pulled out, causing contactor to be displaced from normal position. Mine evacuated; no injuries; no problems. 21 persons underground.

An electrical problem took the Koepe (access) cage out of service and mine was evacuated after initial troubleshooting. Final investigation revealed a switch at the Koepe shaft bottom had burnt in the ""open"" position. While trying to find problem, the lily hoist controls got out of adjustment. Back in operation at 3:45am. No injuries. Evacuation - no problems.

An electrical problem caused operation of Koepe cage to cease. Extensive investigation revealed dust partially clogging air sensor for SCR cooling fan & allowing over-heating. Mine evacuated; no injuries; no problems. Hoist back in service at approximately 12:05pm.

While doing the normal pre-op walkaround, the dayshift hoist operator noticed smoke emitting from the brake coil on the Production hoist. The hoist was stopped and mechanic called. After initial investigation and not knowing repair time, a mine evac was started. Mine evacuated; no injuries/problems. Hoist back in service at approximately 6:35am.

During the shift, the production hoist became inoperable and troubleshooting began. When the problem was not promptly discovered, the mine was evacuated. Investigation revealed that the electric wear switch on the brake accumulator was out of position. It was re-positioned and hoist put back in service at approximately 12:40. No injuries or other problems.

The employee was riding in a gator into the salt mine to fix a scaler. A piece of rock salt fell from above and broke his right femar and fractured bones below the knee cap.

EE stated she slipped going down wooden steps & fell, landing on her rt arm & buttocks. She alleged pain in her back & neck area. After being examined at the local hospital ER, she was released to return to work. In interview that day & afterward, she stated she was ok. She began missing work on 4/3/09 for unknown reason at the time. Mangagement feels this is not reportable.

Employee was descending an extension ladder when the ladder shifted on it's base and caused the employee to lose his footing. He fell off the ladder from about the fourth rung from the bottom of the ladder. In the process he suffered a fractured right wrist when he contacted the ground.

Employee was injured while driving a golf cart along the conveyor belt and fell asleep, steering into the conveyor belt structure. He awoke just as he struck the conveyor structure. The employee was working ""over"" 4 hours in addition to his regular shift.

Employee slipped on slick floor and caught himself before falling to the ground. While slipping he twisted his knee. Employee continued to experience problems and because of his chronic arthritis condition required surgery (ACL repair) to the knee. THIS IS NOT A NEW INCIDENT.

EE was cleaning tail pulley and had the #5 Kubota parked on the side of him. The Dubota started rolling, rearing him from the back and causing him to slip and fall, hurting his knees. EE was sent for med evaluation and released to regular duty. He continued to have pain and again sought med attention. ON 1/7/09 EE was diagnosed w/positive fracture to the left knee.

Employee states he was walking around the back of a fork truck at the maintenance shop to access the area he was working in. While walking behind the fork truck and through the bay door, his right foot turned on an elevated part of the asphalt walking surface causing him to fall to ground level.

Employee waws replacing a .25 inch fuel line on the powder rig engine and did not realize the cover was not secured. When he attempted to remove the fuel line from the engine, the cover on the driver side of the powder rig fell and caught the tip of his finger.

Employee suffered injury when part of handrail broke loose on side of elevated platform in Crushing/Screening plant. As he put hand on railing, it separated, causing him to fall onto the platform. He put his arm out to help lessen fall and injured arm.

Employee felt alleged pain as he bent over to shut off a water valve. He felt additional alleged pain as he slipped on a wet step after shutting off the valve. He also alleged pain from helping lift an explosives box the day prior.

Employee states that while stacking 50 lb bags of USP product onto a pallet for loading, he felt a burning sensation in his left wrist. A short time later, he noticed some swelling in his left wrist. He was removed from the job and was sent to see a physician.

EE states he was bagging 40lb film sacks of pellets, when he stepped off the wooden platform to retrieve more bags. While stepping down from the platform, his foot contacted the edge of the wooden platform, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward. He raised his right arm and grabbed the ink jet coder box to keep from falling. Strained right ankle and arm below shoulder.

Employee injured on 3/27/08 when getting out of skid-steer loader. He slipped and leg went between bucket and loader frame. Took Family Medical Leave for some reason on 3/28/08. Worked on 3/31 & 4/1. Went to doctor on 4/2/08 and given restricted duty.

Employee was traveling along the conveyor belt in a Kubota ATV, when one of the front wheels struck a chunk of material in the roadway. This caused the steering wheel to turn abruptly and his elbow was struck by one of the steering wheel spokes. He continued working his normal shift/duties, but as of 4/25/08 he has been placed on restricted duty by his physician.

EE states he was manually palletizing 50lb paper stacks of USP product. While removing bag from scale to stack on pallet, he felt a spasm and discomfort in the middle of his back. EE was seen by a physician and assigned to restricted duty for a period of two weeks.

EE states he was preparing to move a load of round cans using the Nissan electric fork truck. When he applied pressure on the operating handle without activating the speed control, the machine abruptly moved forward pulling the employee with his left arm resulting in a shoulder strain.

Employee using handheld drill to put hole in stainless panel box. As drill broke thru hole, it pulled hand abruptly forward and it made contact with edge of panel box, causing injury. Reportable as Medical Treatment - sutures.

Employee reported pain in right wrist when she woke up on report date. Employee sought medical help and was diagnosed with tendonitis. Further medical evaluation revealed that the employee would need surgery.

Original incident occurred on 1/26/08. EE sought medical attention and was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. He continued to experience problems and after seeking further medial treatment required surgery for the condition. This is not a new incident.