Coal Mine Safety and Health Report of Investigation: Surface Coal Mine. Fatal Ignition Accident, February 1, 2006, Black Castle Mining Co., Sylvester, Boone County, West Virginia, MSHA ID No. 46-07938

摘要

At approximately 2:10 p.m. on Wednesday, February 1, 2006, a 58-year old bulldozer operator with 15 years experience was fatally injured due to an ignition of natural gas. As the bulldozer operator was developing a drill bench, the blade of the machine contacted and ruptured a 16-inch low-pressure, high-volume natural gas line which immediately burst into flames. The accident occurred because mine management directed the bulldozer to work in close proximity to a known but unlocated active gas line. Although aware of the gas line and potential hazard, mine management did not accurately locate and mark the gas line before directing the bulldozer to operate in the area. This exposed the bulldozer operator to a hazardous condition. Additionally, failure to conduct required on-shift examinations contributed to the accident in that the hazardous condition was not properly identified and corrected.