[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9986-9987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4342]



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First Aid Training for Selected Supervisors

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is 
voluntarily requesting comments on a draft Program Policy Letter 
concerning first aid training for selected supervisors which is 
required by 30 CFR 56/57.18010.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Administrator, Metal and Nonmetal 
Mine Safety and Health, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Room 728, Arlington, 
Virginia 22203, Fax: 703-235-9173. Commenters are encouraged to send 
commends on a computer disk along with their original comments in hard 
copy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard H. Judd, Mine Safety and Health Specialist, Metal and Nonmetal 
Mine Safety and Health, 703-235-8480.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: MSHA updates its policies for enforcement of 
safety and health regulations through Program Policy Letters (PPLs). 
These PPLs are Agency interpretations of what existing MSHA regulations 
require; they are not new regulations. Therefore, PPLs do not impose 
new requirements, but explain or clarify how regulations work or apply 
in a particular situation. These PPSs are used by MSHA inspectors, 
miners, mine operators, and mining equipment manufacturers as guidance 
in determining how best to comply with MSHA regulations. Once adopted, 
the policy statements are published in the MSHA program policy manual 
and given wide distribution.

    To increase public participation on selected draft PPLs, MSHA is 
voluntarily requesting comments and suggestions from the public, 
especially from people who would be directly affected by the PPLs. By 
this notice, MSHA is requesting comments on a draft PPL concerning 
first aid training for selected supervisors, as required by 30 CFR 56/
57.18010. These standards were first promulgated as advisory standards 
in July 1969 and became [[Page 9987]] mandatory in August 1973. MSHA 
will consider all timely submitted comments before taking final action 
on the PPL.

Draft Policy

Background

    Standard 56/57.18010, First Aid Training, states, ``Selected 
supervisors shall be trained in first aid. First aid training shall be 
made available to all interested employees.''
    The intent of the standard is to provide first aid capability at 
each mine so that timely and appropriate treatment may be given in the 
event a miner is injured. Questions raised by industry and labor 
indicate that compliance and enforcement guidance is needed to clarify 
the requirements of the regulation. In a recent five year period, more 
than 2,200 violations of the standard have been cited. Many of these 
citations were issued under circumstances where no one at the mine site 
had been given first aid training. Therefore, MSHA is considering 
issuing a PPL on this subject. It is MSHA's policy that a sufficient 
number of supervisors must be selected and trained to ensure that a 
responsible person is available to administer first aid at the mine 
site on all working shifts.

Selected Supervisors To Be Trained

    Selected supervisors can include shift bosses, foremen, 
superintendents, or other designated individuals in a supervisory 
position. In order to provide first aid assistance to sick or injured 
employees, trained supervisors should be selected to provide coverage 
on each working shift.

Course Content

    The word ``trained'' refers to a performance capability. A person 
trained in first aid must be able to provide the necessary level of 
treatment consistent with accepted first aid practices. The first aid 
course for supervisors, therefore, should include, at a minimum, the 
following fundamental topics which are consistent with those of 
nationally recognized courses: patient assessment, artificial 
ventilation, control of bleeding, control of shock, wounds and 
dressings, burns and scalds, musculoskeletal injuries, and handling and 
transportation.

Accepted Courses

    Training courses which include the fundamentals identified above, 
and are sponsored or sanctioned by a recognized organization (American 
Red Cross, National Safety Council, etc.) meet the requirements of 30 
CFR 56/57.18010. First aid training conducted by MSHA-certified 
instructors also meets the requirements of the standard, provided that 
the topics, as detailed above, are included in the course. 30 CFR Part 
48 training requirements address only a limited form of first aid 
training for all miners and, therefore, is unacceptable for compliance 
with 30 CFR 56/57.18010.
    A certificate of course completion provided by the trainer or the 
recognized training organization, or a written statement by the mine 
operator certifying course completion, will serve as evidence to MSHA 
of current training.

Refresher Training

    In order for first aid capability to remain effective, it is 
necessary for persons who have received the training to maintain an 
adequate competency level and, thus, remain ``trained.'' Refresher 
training prevents the loss or diminution of competency over a period of 
time. When a recognized course is used to comply with the standard, 
retraining should be conducted within the recommended frequency and 
course content established by the providing organization.

Availability Of Training For Employees

    Availability of training for interested employees may be announced 
by posting the course schedule on the mine bulletin board, or by 
notifying employees through other means. The course should be given at 
a location and time convenient to employees.

    Dated: February 16, 1995.
J. Davitt McAteer,
Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 95-4342 Filed 2-16-95; 4:31 pm]
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