The U.S. Division of Labor mentioned Tuesday that it issued widespread citations following impression inspections at 14 mines in 11 states.
The DOL’s Mine Security and Well being Administration discovered 199 violations in the course of the inspections, which passed off all through March.
The company, which started conducting impression inspections after an April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners in West Virginia, mentioned mines have been cited in Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
“The outcomes of March’s impression inspections uncovered a number of critical violations, together with placing miners susceptible to hearth and explosion hazards and impeding miners’ capacity to flee emergency conditions,” Chris Williamson, assistant secretary for mine security and well being, mentioned in an announcement.
The company mentioned the mines that have been inspected had poor compliance historical past, earlier accidents, accidents and sicknesses.
Of the 199 recognized violations, 74 have been evaluated as “important and substantial.”
The company mentioned it has recognized 3,333 violations via mine impression inspections since 2023.
