To: Metal and Nonmetal Mining Alliance Partners and Stakeholders
From: Neal H. Merrifield, Administrator for Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health Mine Safety and Health Administration
Re: Confined Space Entry Alert Unsafe work in confined spaces has led to miner deaths and injuries in the metal and nonmetal mining industry.
Recent tragic incidents include: a fatality while cleaning the inside of a tanker railcar and a miner being severely burned during maintenance inside a baghouse screw conveyor hopper. To address these regrettable occurrences and help prevent similar instances in the future, MSHA will be placing special emphasis on enforcing its standards related to entering bins, hoppers, silos, tanks, and surge piles. MSHA and the Industrial Minerals Association-North America (IMA-NA) have engaged the issue of confined spaces as a project within the Alliance between the two organizations. We recommend conducting a hazard assessment and implementing a permitting system as part of a safe entry standard operating procedure (SOP).
