West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 36 - Coal Mine Health And Safety › Title 36 - LEGISLATIVE EXEMPT RULE BOARD OF COAL MINE HEALTH AND SAFETY › Series 36-21 - The Instruction Of Employees And Supervision Of Apprentices; Annual Examination Of Persons Using Flame Safety Lamps; Records Of Examination; Maintenance Of Methane Detectors › Section 36-21-4 - Instruction Of Employees And Supervision Of Apprentices; Annual Examination Of Persons Using Flame Safety Lamps; Records Of Examinations; Maintenance Of Methane Detectors, Etc

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
4.1. It shall be
				the duty of the mine foreman or assistance mine foreman of every coal mine in
				this state to see that every person employed to work in such mine shall, before
				beginning work therein, be instructed in the particular danger incident to his
				work in such mine and be furnished a copy of the mining laws and rules of such
				mine. It shall be the duty of every mine operator who employs apprentices, as
				that term is used in Sections 3 and 4, Articles 10, Chapter 22 of the West
				Virginia Code, to ensure that the apprentices are effectively supervised with
				regard to safety practices and to instruct apprentices in safe mining
				practices. Every apprentice shall work under the direction of the mine foreman
				or his assistant mine foreman and they shall be responsible for his safety. The
				mine foreman or assistant mine foreman may delegate the supervision of an
				apprentice to an experienced miner, but the foreman and his assistant mine
				foreman shall remain responsible for the apprentice. During the first ninety
				(90) days of employment in a mine, the apprentice shall work within sight and
				sound of the mine foreman assistant mine foreman or an experienced miner, and
				in such a location that the mine foreman, assistant mine foreman or experienced
				miner can effectively respond to cries for help of the apprentice. Such
				location shall be on the same side of any belt, conveyor or mining equipment.
No person shall be qualified for testing for methane and
				  oxygen deficiency unless each such person has been trained and demonstrates to
				  the satisfaction of an authorized representative of the director of the
				  department of energy that he is qualified to test for methane with a flame
				  safety lamp or other approved methane detectors. Records of such examinations
				  shall be kept by the operator and the director of the department of
				  mines.
Persons whose duties require them to use a flame safety lamp
				  and other approved detectors, that have been qualifies by the department of
				  energy to test for methane and oxygen deficiency, shall be examined at least
				  annually to their competence by a certified mine foreman-fire boss and a record
				  that such examination was given, together with pertinent data relating thereto,
				  shall be kept on file by the operator and a copy shall be furnished to the
				  department of energy.
Persons whose duties require them to administer the annual
				  examinations for methane and oxygen deficiency shall be examined annually by a
				  qualified official from the department of energy. Each operator shall provide
				  for the proper maintenance and care of the permissible flame safety lamp or any
				  other approved device for detecting methane and oxygen deficiency by a person
				  trained in such maintenance, and before each shift, care shall be taken to
				  insure that such lamp or other device is in a permissible condition. Flame
				  safety lamps shall be given proper maintenance and inspection before each
				  working shift in a manner recommended by the manufacturing company and approved
				  by the Director of the Department of Energy. Other approved gas detectors shall
				  be given proper maintenance and shall be tested in accordance with the
				  manufacturer's recommendations before each working shift and calibrated each
				  thirty (30) calendar days.