MSHA/NIOSH safety symposium

The US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the state of West Virginia and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are organising a mining health and safety symposium April 20-22 at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia. It will focus on approval of mine equipment and how to speed up the adoption of new technologies, both from traditional sources and through technologies developed for other applications by federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Mine health, safety and rescue experts from North America, Australia and other nations will be invited to participate.

Technology developers and equipment manufacturers will also display and demonstrate their products at the forum. Representatives of MSHA, West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety & Training, the National Mining Association, United Mine Workers of America and other organizations will participate in reviewing technologies and discussing deployment strategies.

MSHA’s Approval and Certification Center, which approves new equipment for mines, is located near Wheeling Jesuit University in Triadelphia, West Virginia. MSHA’s Safety and Health Technology Center is in Bruceton, Pennsylvania; and NIOSH conducts mining safety and health research in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Bruceton.