The sessions are scheduled for the week of April 6-10 at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beaver, West Virginia, and will give rescue team members, state agencies and federal rescue professionals an opportunity to review rule interpretations directly from the appointed chief judges and assistant chief judges.

The event will officially begin at 9am local time on April 7 with an overview of mine rescue rules, and in the afternoon will be followed up by a mine rescue problem designers’ meeting.

The second day, April 8, will be devoted to B-4, Biopak 240S and Biopak 240R bench rules in the morning, and preshift rules in the afternoon. A pre-shift problem designers’ meeting will also be held that day following the rules sessions.

On April 9, first aid rules will be the topic of discussion, followed by a gathering of first-aid problem designers.

For those not able to bring crews up to the Academy in person, MSHA will offer an audio conference of the event for Birmingham, Alabama; Grand Junction, Colorado; Western Kentucky and Price, Utah. The agency noted that problem designer meetings will not be audiocast.

MSHA also noted that non-MSHA participants will not be eligible for on-site Academy housing this year. Also, due to the workshop’s size, questions from attendees will be limited, so the agency has requested that inquiries be submitted in writing before March 27 for discussion at the sessions by the chief judge.

The agency plans to post the 2009 Coal Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench and Preshift Competition Rules on its web site in the near future, where it will remain throughout contest season.

All participants of the Academy’s workshop must print-off a copy of these rules and have them in their possession at the event, as rules copies will not be made available.

For more information, please visit the MSHA web site.