MSHA Holds Public Hearing

{West Virginia}...Thursday, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration held a public hearing in Charleston on the proposed Proximity Rule which requires new equipment on continuous miners that would shut off the machine if anyone got within three feet of the continuous miner while it was in operation. Chris Hamilton, the vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, testified the association has been part of a pilot project since 2008. A few mines in West Virginia already have the systems on their continuous miners. They're being tested to see if they really work and can save lives. Hamilton says MSHA needs to coordinate its work and rule development with the state of West Virginia to avoid the issues that were experienced with underground safety shelters where the state had different criteria and safety standards. After the Sago disaster in 2006, West Virginia led the way in mine safety legislation which called for stiffer standards in some cases than the federal mandates. Hamilton says that shouldn't happen again. MSHA would like to see the proximity detection systems in place in all mines within 18 months after the rule is approved. Brian Thompson with Joy Global, a mining equipment company out of Pennsylvania, says they're ready to start manufacturing the detection systems starting the first of next month, but he  estimates it would take about 50 months to get the detector systems in place in all mines across the U.S. The public comment period runs through November 14th.