Joe Main News

U.S. Issues Mine Safety Rule on Patterns of Violations

Labor Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a final rule to strengthen safety in the nation’s most dangerous mines. Solis said that the rule, which revises the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s pattern of violations regulation, seeks to ensure …

Inspections Improving Mine Safety, Says U.S. Official

Aggressive inspections at troubled mines are helping create safer working environments for coal miners, the head of the federal government’s mine safety agency said during a visit to Kentucky. U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration Director Joe Main met with …

Regulators Say West Virginia Mines Warned of Inspectors

Three times in a month, regulators have caught West Virginia coal companies illegally warning miners that federal inspectors were onsite. Mine Safety and Health Administration director Joe Main says such warnings let workers disguise conditions that could endanger their lives. …

Mine Safety Chief Seeks to End Complacency Over Safety

If there’s one lasting cultural change Mine Safety and Health Administration Director Joe Main wants to make in both the federal agency and the industry it regulates, it’s ending the cycle of intensity and complacency. After every high-profile disaster, regulators …

Safety Crackdown Not Harming Mining Industry: Official

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration’s continuing crackdown on the coal industry hasn’t deterred the industry’s growth, director Joe Main said Friday. From April 2010 to June 2011, the number of underground mining employees grew by about 11 percent, …