The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006 requires MSHA to update these criteria every five (5) years. One of the criteria for a mine operator to certify the qualifications of a coal mine rescue team is that team members are properly trained annually. MSHA has updated the prescribed instruction guides for annual training of coal mine rescue teams to provide improved advanced mine rescue training by including more hands-on skills training to enhance team performance when responding to an actual mine emergency.
The annual training requirements for coal mine rescue teams include Sec. 49.18(b)(4), which requires advanced mine rescue training and procedures as prescribed by MSHA’s Office of Educational Policy and Development (EPD). Under this requirement, EPD currently prescribes Instruction Guide IG7, “Advanced Mine Rescue Training–Coal Mines,” which includes best practices, handouts, visuals, and text materials for the classroom and activities or exercises for practice using equipment and developing teamwork.
To update this prescribed training, the existing lessons and exercises from the current Instruction Guide IG7 were reorganized and Instruction Guide IG7a, containing new practical exercises, was added. The materials for classroom training are retained as Instruction Guide IG7, “Advanced Mine Rescue Training–Coal Mines,” and the practice exercises are moved to new Instruction Guide IG7a, “Advanced Skills Training–Activities for Coal Mine Rescue Teams.” Instruction Guide IG7a also contains new exercises to assure practice on skills a team would need in a mine emergency, as well as expectations training.
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