Mine Safety

Federal Efforts To Improve Inspections and Injury Reporting Gao ID: HRD-87-115BR September 14, 1987

In response to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) inspection practices and injury reporting to assess MSHA: (1) progress toward completing mandatory regular inspections; (2) mechanisms to assess inspection quality; and (3) efforts to verify mine operators' injury reporting.

GAO found that: (1) since 1985, MSHA has improved its completion of mandatory inspections to 97 percent and increased inspection hours by 21 percent; (2) some MSHA officials believed that emphasis on completion of inspections could compromise inspection quality; (3) MSHA is taking steps to improve its ability to assess inspection quality; (4) mine operators blamed significant underreporting of mine-related injuries on unclear MSHA guidelines, but MSHA revised the guidelines to better define reporting responsibilities and reportable injuries; (5) MSHA is using state-provided workers' compensation data to verify and monitor compliance with its injury reporting guidelines; and (6) in 1987, MSHA began issuing severe penalties for negligence and underreporting.



The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.