30 C.F.R. § 75.1502 Mine emergency evacuation and firefighting program of instruction.
Title 30 - Mineral Resources
(a) Approved program of instruction. Each operator of an underground coal mine shall adopt and follow a mine emergency evacuation and firefighting program that instructs all miners in the proper evacuation procedures they must follow if a mine emergency occurs. (1) The approved program shall include a specific plan designed to instruct miners on all shifts on the following: (i) Procedures for evacuating the mine for mine emergencies that present an imminent danger to miners due to fire, explosion, or gas or water inundation. (ii) Scenarios of the various mine emergencies (fires, explosions, or gas or water inundations) and the best options for evacuation under each type of emergency. These options shall include conditions in the mine that will require immediate donning of self-rescue devices. (iii) Procedures for evacuating all miners not required for a mine emergency response. (iv) Procedures for the rapid assembly and transportation of necessary miners, fire suppression equipment, and rescue apparatus to the scene of the mine emergency. (v) Operation of the fire suppression equipment available in the mine. (vi) Location and use of firefighting equipment and materials. (vii) Location of escapeways, exits, and routes of travel to the surface, including the location and use of continuous directional lifelines or equivalent devices. (viii) Locations, quantity, types, and use of stored SCSRs, if applicable. (2) The mine emergency evacuation instruction and drills shall be conducted by a person who is designated by the mine operator and who has the ability, training, knowledge, or experience to provide training to miners in his or her area of expertise. Persons conducting donning and transferring training shall be able to effectively train and evaluate whether miners can successfully don the SCSR and transfer to additional SCSR devices. (3) The operator shall submit this program of instruction, and any revisions, for approval to the District Manager of the Coal Mine Safety and Health district in which the mine is located. Before implementing any new or revised approved provision, the operator shall instruct miners in the changes. (b) In addition to the approved program of instruction required by paragraph (a) of this section, each operator of an underground coal mine shall ensure that: (1) At least two miners in each working section on each production shift are proficient in the use of all fire suppression equipment available on such working section, and know the location of such fire suppression equipment; (2) Each operator of attended equipment specified in §75.1107–1(c)(1), and each miner assigned to perform job duties at the job site in the direct line of sight of attended equipment as described in §75.1107–1(c)(2), is proficient in the use of fire suppression devices installed on such attended equipment; and, (3) The shift foreman and at least one miner for every five miners working underground on a maintenance shift are proficient in the use of fire suppression equipment available in the mine, and know the location of such fire suppression equipment. (c) Mine emergency evacuation drills. Each operator of an underground coal mine shall require all miners to participate in mine emergency evacuation drills. (1) Mine emergency evacuation drills shall be held at periods of time so as to ensure that all miners participate in such evacuations at intervals of not more than 90 days. (2) For purposes of this paragraph (c), a mine emergency evacuation drill means that the miner shall travel the primary or alternate escapeway, from the working section or the miner's work station, to the surface or the exits at the bottom of the shaft or slope. An evacuation drill shall not be conducted in the same escapeway as the immediately preceding drill. At a minimum, this drill shall include: (i) Physically locating continuous directional lifelines or equivalent devices and stored SCSRs; (ii) Hands-on training in the complete donning of all types of SCSRs used at the mine, which includes assuming a donning position, opening the device, activating the device, inserting the mouthpiece or simulating this task while explaining proper insertion of the mouthpiece, and putting on the nose clip; and (iii) Hands-on training in transferring from one self-rescue device to an SCSR. (3) The operator shall certify by signature and date that the mine emergency evacuation drills were held in accordance with the requirements of this section. This certification shall include the names of the miners participating in each drill. Certifications shall be kept at the mine for one year and made available on request to an authorized representative of the Secretary, and to the representative of the miners. (4) These mine emergency evacuation drills may be used to satisfy the evacuation specifications of the drills required by paragraph (b) of §75.383 of this part. (d) Each underground coal operator shall submit for approval a revised program of instruction to the appropriate District Manager no later than April 10, 2006. Within 2 weeks of program approval the operator shall train in accordance with the revised program. [68 FR 53050, Sept. 9, 2003, as amended at 71 FR 12269, Mar. 9, 2006]
Title 30: Mineral Resources
PART 75—MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS—UNDERGROUND COAL MINES
Subpart P—Mine Emergencies
§ 75.1502 Mine emergency evacuation and firefighting program of instruction.
