30 CFR Parts 46 and 48

Effective Date/Relationship to Part 48/Scope

The above-titled final safety training rule (hereafter "rule" or "Part 46 rule") was promulgated by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) on September 30, 1999. MSHA's proposed Part 46 rule was issued on April 14, 1999.

The Part 46 final rule is intended to replace Part 48 in so-called exempt industries (shell dredging, sand, gravel, surface stone, surface clay, surface limestone and colloidal phosphate). Part 46 also applies to operations that produce marble, granite, sandstone, slate, kaolin, shale, traprock, cement, feldspar and lime. It does not apply to surface boron or talc mines. Hence, operators who are now complying with Part 48 must change those parts of their current program that do not now comply with Part 46 to assure compliance withit after enforcement begins next year.

The 5-page final rule is divided into 12 sections, and is supported by a 51-page Preamble. The rule addresses five different types of training: new miner, newly hired experienced miner, refresher, task and site-specific hazard awareness training.

Background

MSHA said the rule was developed "with small businesses in mind," and is intended to provide operators "with the necessary flexibility to devise training programs that best suit their operations and employees." The rule affects approximately 10,200 surface nonmetal mines and 120,000 miners. About 9,200 of these sites are crushed stone and sand and gravel operations

The agency estimates that compliance with the final rule will prevent about 10 fatalities and 557 injuries per year. MSHA hopes the rule will have a particularly beneficial effect on mines with fewer than 20 workers, which make up most of the exempt mines. According to MSHA statistics, these small operations, as a group, have the highest rates of noncompliance with Part 48 training requirements and also the highest fatality rates.

To assist in the compliance effort, MSHA has asked Congress to increase the appropriation for the States Grants program from $6 million in FY 99 to $6.1 million in FY 2000.

In what follows, the term "operator" is intended to refer both to production-operators and to independent contractors, even though the latter are not specifically mentioned.

Highlights

• Conforms to Section 115 of the Mine Act
• Effective date of Oct. 2, 2000
• Instruction by competent persons allowed; MSHA-certified instructors not required
• No required approval by MSHA of written training plans
• With one exception, refresher training topics not mandated
• Operators remain responsible for providing site-specific hazard training to vendors and visitors, and are responsible for "ensuring" such training is given to employees of independent contractors.
• No specified time minimum for instruction, and attendance at tailgate talks and safety and health meetings is credited toward new miner, newly hired experienced miner and annual refresher training.
• Relevant instruction from OSHA and other training providers is acceptable.
• Wide latitude allowed in training methods.
• Documentation of training is required.

Competent Person

An individual designated by the operator who has the knowledge, ability, training and experience to provide miner training in his or her area/s of expertise. The competent person must be able to communicate effectively and evaluate the effectiveness of training. Organizations may be used by the operator as a substitute for operator-designated competent persons; however, instructors within those organizations must still meet the definition of competent person, and the operator still is held responsible for assuring their competency.

Operators need to understand that if an accident occurs or an MSHA inspector feels for any reason that training is not effective, the inspector may look into the credentials of the operator's relevant competent person, and cite if the inspector feels the competent person is not competent to provide the appropriate instruction. No provision of the rule requires the operator to maintain written documentation of a person's competency, but having such documentation should be of benefit to the operator. MSHA intends to provide assistance to operators in helping identify competent persons.

Equivalent Experience

Work experience where the person performed duties similar to duties performed in mining operations at surface mines. Examples are heavy equipment operator, truck driver, skilled craftsman or plant operator. Although MSHA allows equivalent experience under the rule, it will not permit an operator simply to take the miner's word that he or she has equivalent experience. Under the rule, the miner must actually demonstrate equivalent experience to the operator. No documentation of this demonstration is required, but having it should be of benefit.

Experienced Miner

There are four scenarios in which a person may be classified as an experienced miner for purposes of Part 46 training, and once a miner is so classified, he or she maintains the designation permanently. The scenarios are:

• Employed as a miner on April 14, 1999, which was the date of the proposed rule;
• A minimum of 12 months' cumulative surface mine experience or its equivalent, if obtained on or before October 2, 2000, which is the effective date of the new rule;
• Hired between April 14, 1999 and October 2, 2000 and has received new miner training either under Part 48 or under Part 46, as proposed; or
• Employed on or after October 2, 2000 who has received new miner training under Part 48 or final Part 46, and has at least 12 months' cumulative experience in surface mining or its equivalent.

Again, the rule does not require documented evidence of prior employment or training, but it's a good idea to have it, particularly if the operator is going to base the type of subsequent training provided to that miner on the type, date and duration of training the miner received prior to hire.

Mine Site and Mining Operations

Mining operations are defined to consist of: development, drilling, blasting, extraction, milling, crushing, screening and sizing materials at a mine, as well as associated maintenance and repair of mining equipment and materials haulage within the mine from these activities. The mine site is anywhere in the mine where these operations occur, and would include, for example, the pit, quarry, stockpiles, mine haul roads or areas where customers travel or haul material.

Therefore, persons engaged only in development, extraction and production, and associated maintenance, repair and haulage within the mine are covered under the final rule. This means that comprehensive training under the rule; i.e., new miner, newly hired experienced miner, refresher and task training, would not be required for, say, office personnel if they do not enter the mine site; vendors, such as technicians in a mobile testing van, provided they stay away from the mine site; and customers who come into the mine for a load and haul materials away from the mine site.

Mine "development" is intended to refer to activities, preliminary to extraction, which include but are not limited to drilling, and mining and development work on both newly discovered and established mineral deposits. Excluded from "development" would be exploratory drilling, reconnaissance, search or prospecting that takes place off an existing mine site, and is conducted in the search of the initial discovery of mineral deposits.

Miner

Any person who works at a mine and is engaged in mining operations is included in the definition. It includes operators and supervisors who meet the definition as well as independent contractors and employees of independent contractors who perform mining operations. Also included are construction workers exposed to the hazards of mining operations; i.e., activities integral to extraction and production. Thus, construction workers building a new crusher in an active quarry but removed from extraction and production activities are not covered, whereas construction workers assembling a new crusher in an area where extraction and production are underway would be covered. Inclusion of construction workers represents a change from Part 48.

MSHA makes clear that its definition is intended to address only persons engaged in activities related to day-to-day mining operations.

The rule includes a list of persons who do not meet the definition and hence do not require comprehensive training:

• Scientific workers
• Delivery workers
• Customers, including commercial over-the-road truckers
• Vendors
• Visitors or
• Maintenance or service personnel who do not work at the mine for "frequent of extended periods." "Frequent" refers to occurring intermittently and repeatedly over time; "extended" means exposure to mine hazards for more than five consecutive days.

MSHA has promised to provide outreach materials to clarify this term even further.

New Miner/Newly Hired Experienced Miner

A person newly hired who is not an experienced miner.

Newly Hired Experienced Miner

A person newly hired who meets the definition above of experienced miner. Persons moving from job to job but who remain employed by the same firm do not meet the newly hired portion of the definition, and hence do not fit the classification.

Operator

The term encompasses production-operators and independent contractors who perform services at a mine. As previously stated, throughout this document, we will use the term "operator" to apply to both production-operators and independent contractors, unless otherwise noted.

46.4 Training Plan Implementation

Written training plans that meet requirements of the new rule must be developed, and provided to miners or their representatives by no later than September 18, 2000, which is two weeks before the rule goes into effect on Oct. 2, 2000. The plan need not be submitted to MSHA, but there is also no prohibition against doing so. If plans are sent to MSHA, the operator is under no obligation to continue sending them each time they are changed. Plans are automatically assumed approved if they meet the requirements in Section 46.3.

After October 2, 2000, plans must be made available to inspectors within a single business day. Inspectors will evaluate the plan as part of their normal inspection duties, and they would do so with an eye to determining that:

(1) a written plan exists
(2) the written plan contains at a minimum the information specified in the rule, and
(3) the plan is being implemented consistent with plan specifications.

Miners or their representatives have a right to review and comment on the plans. They also have a right to request review of the plan by MSHA's Educational Field Services (EFS) unit, and apparently need not give a reason for doing so. MSHA would like such discussion, initially at least, to be between the miner or his/her representative and the operator, but makes allowance in the rule for the miner/miners' representatives to involve EFS immediately in the review and approval process. As part of its outreach effort, the agency has promised to provide mine operators with sample plans. A vehicle for making them available will be MSHA's web site at www.msha.gov. The agency is also developing an interactive computer-based program that will assist operators in developing training plans appropriate for their specific operations.

Required elements of the training plan are as follows:

(1) Operator name, mine name and MSHA identification number
(2) Name and position of the person designated by the operator who is responsible for health and safety training at the mine
(3) General description of teaching methods and course materials, including subject areas to be taught and the approximate time or range of time; e.g., 1-2 hours, to be spent on each
(4) List of persons and/or organizations who will do the training, and the subject area each person and/or organization is competent to instruct. MSHA will also allow a list of potential instructors to be provided in a particular subject, even though the course will ultimately only be taught by one of the instructors listed.
(5) Evaluation procedures used to determine training effectiveness.

Information above must be supplied in sufficient detail to allow an MSHA inspector to determine compliance with Part 46 requirements. Plans that clearly do not meet these requirements must be submitted to EFS, and anytime the operator submits a plan to EFS for approval the operator must provide it to the miners' representative two weeks before sending it to EFS. Operators and miners/miners' representatives must inform each other if they request EFS review of the plan. If an operator changes a plan, the operator must resubmit the revised plan to the miner/miners' representative, or post it, as appropriate.

If operators don't submit the plan to EFS, the miners' representative must still be given a copy two weeks prior to implementation. During that two-week period, miners' representatives may review and provide written comment on it, either to the operator directly or to EFS. If a mine has no representative, the plan must be distributed to each miner or be posted on the mine's bulletin board, and miners have the same right to review the plan and comment on it as their representatives. Operators have a week to provide a plan to miners/miners' representatives once it is returned approved by EFS.

If EFS receives a plan, the Regional Manager for EFS must notify the operator and the miners/miners' representative in writing within 30 calendar days of EFS's receipt of the plan of EFS approval, or status of approval, of the plan. Use of the "status of approval" phrase in the final rule gets EFS off the hook for meeting the 30-day deadline for making an approval/disapproval decision on an operator's plan; therefore, operators need to plan accordingly by allowing extra time beyond 30 calendar days for EFS to make its decision. Appeals by operators, miners or their representatives must be directed, in writing only, within 30 calendar days after notification of the Regional Manager's decision to the Director of MSHA's Educational Policy and Development Division (EPD) in Arlington, VA. Another 30-day period is permitted for EPD to respond.

Operators may not implement a plan submitted to EFS that has not first been approved by EFS. This means that the effective implementation date for operators who wish to submit their plans to EFS should be at least 114 calendar days before October 2, 2000, or June 9, 2000. The extra time would allow for (1) the required two-week review by miners, (2) the required 30-day review by EFS, (3) a 30-day appeal period, if necessary (4) 30 days for EPD response to the appeal, if necessary, and (5) an extra 10 days for delivery, since MSHA says the clock does not start ticking until the day it receives a plan. This 114-day period may still be potentially tight, since it makes no allowance, for instance, for the time an operator would need to change a plan EFS does not approve, additional time beyond 30 days that EFS might need to approve a plan, or time for the operator to prepare an appeal to EPD. Therefore, to be on the safe side, operators who want to send their plans into MSHA for review are well advised to begin the process six months before Oct. 2, 2000, or April 2, 2000.

Training plans must provide the required information for accomplishing all five different types of training required under the rule. For task training, this would mean listing tasks for which training will be provided. For site-specific hazard training, the plan should summarize the scope of site-specific hazard training to be given based on the type of worker who will receive it. For example, the type of hazard awareness training given to contractors hired to repair equipment would most likely differ in scope and depth from that for truck drivers who just come on the mine site for brief periods to deliver supplies.

As mentioned, the rule allows instruction by competent persons employed by the operator, or by competent persons employed by a broad range of other organizations. Persons who do not meet the qualifications of competent persons may not provide training, even if they are acting under the oversight or direction of a competent person. Additionally, to repeat, the operator must assess the competent person's ability to communicate the subject matter and to evaluate its effectiveness. The rule does not require the operator to document this assessment, however.

If training is provided by an organization other than the operator, the plan may include the organization's name; however, the name of the instructor who provides that training, not the organization name alone, must be listed in the written record that documents training has been given. This training must be "relevant" to the required training subjects, and documentation of relevancy and equivalency must be part of an operator's training documentation.

Training must also be required in a language the miner can understand. To MSHA, this means written materials must be in, say, Spanish that accompany oral instruction in Spanish to Spanish-speaking miners. If signage is used to satisfy site-specific hazard awareness training, and truck drivers who only speak Polish enter the mine site, the signage must also be in Polish.

If the same teaching materials and course methods are used for more than one of the types of training required, the operator need not repeatedly mention them in the plan. However, the operator must make clear in the plan which materials and methods will be used for which type of training.

The plan requires that evaluation methods be listed. These may include but are not limited to administering written or oral tests, or a demonstration that the miner can perform the duties or tasks for which he or she has been trained. Evaluation could also include a review of a miner's work practices through observation, or other techniques.

MSHA requires that each time a plan is revised, the operator must so inform the miners' representatives, or, in the absence of a miners' representative, the revised plan must be distributed to each miner or posted. If EFS approval is sought for the revised plan, the same steps outlined above for EFS approval of the original training plan must be followed. This must be done even for what MSHA calls "minor changes." Our translation of this requirement is that the operator should provide miner notification for any change.

Employee safety and health meetings, including informal health and safety talks and instruction, may be credited toward new miner, newly hired experienced miner and refresher training requirements. However, only the time devoted to safety and health in these meetings counts. Time spent doing anything else; e.g, discussing other subjects or in administrative details, cannot be credited. There is no limit on how long such sessions may last in order to satisfy Part 46 requirements.

The length of new miner training must conform to the 24-hour, 8-subject requirement in the Mine Act. With one exception, seven of these subjects, and site-specific hazard awareness training, must be given during a minimum 4-hour block of time before the miner starts work. The subjects are as follows:

(1) introduction to the work environment, including a visit and tour of the mine, or at least those portions representative of the entire mine; i.e., walk-around training. The method of mining operation utilized must be explained and observed, which we take to mean that the mine must be in operation during this training session.
(2) Instruction on the recognition and avoidance of electrical and other hazards at the mine.
(3) Review of emergency medical procedures, escape and emergency evacuation plans, and instruction on the firewarning signals and firefighting procedures.
(4) Instruction in health and safety aspects of assigned tasks; i.e., task training, including safe work procedures of such tasks and the mandatory health and safety standards pertinent to such tasks. (This is the exception mentioned above, and how the task training is excepted from this initial instruction is more fully explained below.)
(5) Instruction on the statutory rights of miners and their representatives
(6) Review and description of the line of authority of supervisors and miners' representatives and the responsibilities of such supervisors and miners' representatives.
(7) Introduction to the operator's rules and procedures for reporting hazards.

Within 60 calendar days of a miner's start date, two additional subjects must be taught: instruction and demonstration on the use, care, and maintenance of self-rescue and respiratory devices, if applicable, and a review of first-aid methods. An individual at the mine trained in 30 CFR 56 may provide this training; an approved first-aid instructor is not necessary. Within 90 calendar days of the miner's start date, the remainder of training to meet the 24-hour requirement, if any, must be provided. This training may be on any other subjects that promote miner health and safety.

MSHA does not dictate how much time is to be devoted to each topic, but expects the operator to determine that based on the nature of hazards at the mine, extent and type of training the new miner brings to the job, etc. In other words, there may be more emphasis on one or more subjects with some miners, and more intensive instruction on other subjects with other miners, based on their prior knowledge and experience, etc.

The goal of this pre-work training is four-fold: to familiarize miners with mine hazards, teach them how to avoid exposing themselves and others to unnecessary risks, perform their job assignments safely, and be able to respond appropriately to mine emergencies.

If a miner has not received the full 24-hour complement of training, the miner must work in the physical proximity of an experienced miner who can observe that the new miner is working safely. The experienced miner need not necessarily abandon his or her normal duties to fulfill this oversight function or be assigned to watch just one new miner, but MSHA does not rule out the necessity of providing this very tight supervision under certain circumstances either. The judgment is left to the operator to decide how closely a miner must be supervised during this 90-day (or less) training period.

For one, and only one, of the eight mandatory pre-work subjects, task training, the operator need not actually provide it before the miner starts work, rather may allow the miner to practice under the "close observation" of a competent person. However, the practice of his or her assigned task by the miner not yet task trained must be for training purposes, not purposes of production, and, as is the case with all task training, hazard recognition training specific to the task must be given before the miner performs the task.

To minimize the likelihood that a miner would have to repeat new miner training unnecessarily, credit is given in the final rule for new miners who have not attained experienced miner status for training purposes, but who have already completed new miner training under Part 46 or Part 48. Thus, a miner need not repeat new miner training who either has equivalent experience or less than 12 months' cumulative experience at a surface mine and who has completed new miner training within 36 months of beginning work at the mine. This person still must receive instruction in the 8 subjects listed above before beginning work, however.

Similarly, miners who have received new miner training under Part 48 within 36 months of beginning work at a surface mine need not repeat this training if it is relevant to the 10 subjects above that must be taught within 60 calendar days.

Newly hired experienced miners must receive instruction in 9 of the same 10 subjects in identical time sequence as that required for new miners during new hired experienced miners' first 60 calendar days of employment. In other words, newly hired experienced miners must get instruction in the same eight subjects as new miners before they begin work, plus respiratory devices, if applicable, within 60 days. However, unlike requirements for new miner training, no training in first-aid is mandated, and the requirement that new miners receive 24 hours of instruction is dropped for newly hired experienced miners. No minimum duration of instruction time is set for this latter class of miner, nor is the operator limited to providing instruction in just these subjects.

As is the case with new miner training, operators are permitted to allow task training for newly hired experienced miners to be done by means of practice under the close observation of a competent person.

The rule treats experienced miners who return to the same mine after an absence of 12 months or less almost as though they never left. Such a miner need not repeat the training in the 9 subjects listed above. Instead, all that must be taught, before the miner resumes work at the same mine, is any changes that could adversely affect the miner's health or safety that occurred at the mine since the miner left. Additionally, if this miner missed any part of refresher training during his or her absence, this training must be made up within 90 calendar days of resumption of work.

This section requires the operator to provide the miner with training on the safety and health aspects and safe work practices specific to the new task the miner undertakes for which he or she has had no previous experience. Instruction on pertinent MSHA regulations must also be given. This training must be given before the miner begins the task. Similarly, if the miner's job changes such that he or she must perform unfamiliar new tasks which could affect the health and safety risks encountered by the miner, safety training must be given before that task is performed.

Such training is not required for miners with previous training or experience performing the task, provided they can demonstrate they understand how to do it safely. The operator must actually observe the miner performing the task; he or she is not permitted to take the miner's word for it or to accept evidence of proficiency based on a review of relevant documentation. However, the operator need not document that he or she has actually observed the miner doing the task safely.

The trigger for task training is not a task change, rather it is any change that affects the health and safety risks encountered by the miner. This means that task training is only required whenever any change in the task occurs that could impact the health and safety conditions under which the miner works. A modification to a loader's control system that makes the equipment more sensitive to operator manipulations is an example. Another example is a change that magnifies noise levels emitted by a piece of equipment.

MSHA explains in the Preamble what it considers appropriate task training: it "will include, at a minimum, instruction in the elements of the task, including hands-on training, and an explanation of the potential health or safety hazards associated with the task and ways of minimizing or avoiding exposure to these hazards."

The rule conforms to the Mine Act requirement that the operator provide eight hours of refresher training no less frequently than once each 12 months. The rule does not stipulate course content, only prescribes that instruction must include (1) changes at the mine that could adversely impact the miner's health or safety, and (2) other health and safety subjects relevant to mining operations at the mine. Examples of such changes include alternations in traffic patterns, a new blasting schedule or introduction of new or retrofitted equipment. A list of 19 suggested (non-mandated) topics is provided in the rule. Task training may not be credited toward satisfaction of annual refresher training requirements.

Hire date is the operative date for establishing the deadline when a new miner must receive annual refresher training. Hence, if a miner is hired on September 1, he or she must have received the eight hours of refresher training before September 1 of the following year. This means that, after Oct. 2, 2000, newly hired inexperienced miners must actually receive a minimum of 32 hours of training in their first full year of employment ­ 24 hours of new miner training and eight hours of refresher training.

For currently employed miners, effective on October 2, 2000 the reference date for completion of annual refresher training is no later than 12 months after the miner receives his or her last installment of refresher training for the previous year or March 31, 2001, whichever is later. In other words, if a miner receives an hour of refresher instruction each month for eight months, ending on May 7, 2000, the deadline for completion of the next year's eight-hour refresher training requirement is May 6, 2001. However, if the last installment of refresher training occurs before March 31, 2000, refresher training must be completed by March 31, 2001. The purpose of the March deadline is to assure no operator delays a full year after the rule is promulgated on October 2, 2000 before providing miners employed on the effective date with refresher training.

If refresher training is provided in installments, no minimum length of instruction is stipulated. Attendance at short tailgate talks counts toward satisfaction of refresher training.

Both records and certificates of training must be prepared. Records refer to the running log of instruction provided each miner. A training record must include:

(1) Printed full name of the person trained.
(2) Type of training, duration and date of training and name of competent person who provided it.
(3) Name of the mine or independent contractor, MSHA mine identification number or independent contractor identification number, and location of training. If an institution is involved, its name and location.

Organizations may substitute for an operator's competent person; however, the names of the organization's competent persons who provide miner training must be listed on the training documentation form. Listing the organization name alone will not suffice. Additionally, while MSHA allows "equivalent" training by providers, such as OSHA, this training must be "relevant" to the required training subjects, and documentation of relevancy and equivalency must be part of an operator's training documentation.

One way to meet this documentation requirement is to obtain an actual record of it, assuming it meets the detailed requirements under Section 46.3. If such a record is not available or is incomplete, the operator must create the record, and in so doing, identify the miner, the training being credited, the date and duration of training, training methods used, and the person who provided it.

MSHA states in the Preamble that it expects OSHA or other types of training would satisfy only a portion of Part 46 training requirements. Even then, the onus is on the operator to establish what part of the equivalent training is applicable or not. For example, if the miner received respirator training but the respirator he or she will use at the mine is not the same type (half-face, full-face, supplied air, etc) as the miner had been trained to use, the operator may not credit this previous training toward meeting the respirator training requirements under Part 46. Likewise, only some of the training a miner received previously on how to safely operate a front-end loader is applicable if the miner will be using a different type of front-end loader at the mine.

Records of training must be kept whenever distinct instructional milestones are reached. These milestones are as follows:

Program of Instruction	Notation of Training Required (no later than)
New Miner Training	when the miner begins work 60 days after the miner begins work 90 days after the miner begins work, if applicable
Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training	when the miner begins work 60 days after the miner begins work
Annual Refresher Training	after each training session
Task Training	upon completion of task training
Site-Specific Hazard Awareness Training	upon completion by miners

Note that documentation requirements for site-specific hazard awareness training apply to miners only, and not to visitors, vendors, etc.

These "records" become "certificates" when two things happen: a false certification statement is added, and the person signs them who is designated in the training plan as responsible for health and safety training at the mine. The signature must be accompanied by the wording, "I certify that the above training has been completed." The false certification statement shall read, "False certification is punishable under Section 110(a) and (f) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act." The punishment for falsifying certification, which is a requirement of the Mine Act, is a civil penalty of up to $55,000, and a criminal penalty of up to $10,000 with imprisonment for up to five years. The miner is not required to sign the form.

Certificates must be given to the miner upon completion of each program of instruction; specifically, upon completion of new miner, newly hired experienced miner, annual refresher training and site-specific hazard awareness training, and, for task training, after 12 months, or upon the miner's request. Miners are also entitled to copies of their records and certificates, upon request, when they terminate employment.

Records and certificates may be one and the same document provided the document meets the information requirements of both records and certificates. In fact, to minimize paperwork, they probably ought to be one form. Records and certificates can be in any form, so long as they meet the information requirements of the rule. MSHA Form 5000-23 may be used, but it does not currently include all items of information required by the rule, and hence, if used, would have to be modified. The 5000-23 is available from MSHA, or is obtainable off MSHA's website at www.MSHA.gov.

Operators must make training records and certificates available at the mine site, or if they are not available, must be capable of producing records and certificates the same day the miner, his or her representative or an MSHA representative asks for them.

As for records/certificates retention, training documentation must be retained for as long as the miner is employed with that operator, and for a minimum of 60 calendar days after the miner leaves the operator's employment, except for refresher training records, which may be retained for no longer than two years. As previously noted, records of site-specific hazard awareness training are not required for non-miners. Still, operators are required to provide evidence to MSHA, upon request, that such training was provided. Providing the training materials used, the written information distributed to persons upon their arrival at the mine or a visitor log book which records that such training has been given would suffice.

This section merely reiterates the Mine Act requirement that miners be paid at their normal rate of pay for attending training sessions, and that they be compensated for incidental expenses, if any, accrued in the course of taking instructional courses.

Miners must also be given instruction during their "normal working hours." This is the period of time the miner normally works; i.e., his or her regular shift hours. MSHA intends that training is to occur then. For instance, if a worker's normal shift is eight hours and eight hours of instruction is scheduled at an off-site location a half hour 's driving distance from the plant, MSHA would consider it acceptable for the miner's work day to extend an extra hour to allow for travel time, so long as instruction were done during the miner's normal shift hours. Of course, the miner would be entitled to compensation for his or her travel time and other incidental costs.

Site-specific hazard awareness is defined as information or instructions on the hazards a person could be exposed to while at the mine, and applicable emergency procedures. Besides providing a definition, MSHA adds that this training must address site-specific health and safety risks, such as but not limited to:

(1) unique geologic or environmental conditions,
(2) recognition and avoidance of hazards such as electrical and powered- haulage hazards,
(3) traffic patterns and control, and restricted areas, and
(4) warning and evacuation signals, evacuation and emergency procedures or other special safety procedures.

Site-specific hazard awareness training must be given to miners and all other persons exposed to mine hazards before they are so exposed, and to those other persons present at the mine site, including but not limited to:

(1) Office or staff personnel
(2) Scientific and delivery workers
(3) Customers, including commercial over-the-road truck drivers
(4) Construction workers or employees of independent contractors who are not miners
(5) Maintenance or service workers who do not work at the mine site for frequent or extended periods
(6) Vendors or visitors

MSHA envisions that some categories of workers will need more extensive hazard awareness training than others. For example, a customer truck driver may need merely a basic orientation, while an equipment manufacturer's representative or a driller may need more in-depth instruction. Determination of the scope and depth of hazard awareness instruction is the operator's responsibility.

Persons on mine property who do not come near mining operations need not be given hazard awareness training. This would include office and staff personnel if they work on mine property, but their work never takes them to where mining operations occur. This training is also not required for persons who are accompanied at the mine site by an experienced miner familiar with hazards specific to that site. The experienced miner need not be a competent person. Another exception is government agents; they are exempt from the requirement for site-specific hazard awareness training.

Miners who move from mine to mine while being employed by the same operator or independent contractor must receive site-specific hazard awareness training. Drillers and blasters are among workers who fall into this category.

Wide discretion in how hazard awareness training is presented is allowed; e.g., written hazard warnings, oral instruction, signs and posted warnings, walk-around training, or other appropriate means that alert persons to site-specific hazards at the mine. Any combination of types of instruction is also permitted. Of course, this training must be given in a manner that the individual can understand, meaning if the visitor speaks a foreign language, the training must be given in that language.

As previously mentioned, operators need not keep a record of hazard awareness training for non-miners. However, the operator must produce training materials or instructions to show to MSHA's satisfaction that this training is being done.

The operator has primary responsibility for ensuring employees of independent contractors who are required to have site-specific hazard awareness training receive it. The operator may discharge the responsibility by providing the instruction personally, or by giving the information on site-specific hazards to the independent contractor who in turn would provide the appropriate instruction to his or her employees. However, even in the latter instance, the operator must still insure the training is given.

Likewise, the operator must remind the contractor of the need to comply with all MSHA regulations. MSHA suggests the operator include appropriate provisions covering this requirement in the contract with the independent contractor, and further suggests that "it might be prudent for them [operators] to request and maintain evidence of independent contractors' compliance with training."

On the other hand, the independent contractor has primary responsibility for providing his or her employees with comprehensive safety training, and for informing the operator of any hazards the contractor may create during the performance of its work at the mine. Comprehensive training refers to new miner, newly hired experienced miner, annual refresher and new task training.

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