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Published in the *December 2011 Coal USA Magazine
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While research has been done and many advances have been made to protect workers from the inherent dangers of roof falls and rib rolls, there are still fatalities each year: Of 18 mine deaths recorded as of Coal USA press time*, five were due to the fall of roof, back or rib. Two occurred within three days in June, taking the lives of a pair of West Virginia and Kentucky miners.
While technology, safety products and communications have and will continue to improve, one factor won’t be changed by the latest innovation – a miner’s awareness of the environment around him. Even the most cutting-edge technology is – and should be – no replacement for an individual’s intuition and attention to safety.
Photo courtesy United States Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration National Mine Health and Safety Academy Technical Information Center & Library, Bureau of Mines Collection.
