This chapter shall be known as the 'Alabama Coal Mine Safety Law of 1975.' The purpose of this chapter is to provide reasonable laws to promote the safety and health of those engaged in the mining of coal and for the protection and preservation of property.

The board of examiners created by Section 25-9-9 shall examine qualified applicants and give certificates of competency to persons who pass the required examinations to act as mine foremen or fire bosses in any coal mine in this state. A fee to be established by the board, not to exceed $20.00, shall be charged for each examination given by the board, and such fee shall be paid to the Treasury of the state before the examination is begun. The examinations shall be conducted under such uniform rules, conditions and regulations as the board shall deem most efficient for carrying into effect the spirit and intent of this chapter. Such rules, when formulated, shall be made a part of the permanent record of the board, and such of them as relate to candidates shall be published for their information and governance prior to each examination. Such rules shall be of uniform application to all candidates.

Each applicant for a mine foreman's certificate of competency shall:

(1) Be a citizen of the United States;

(2) Be at least 23 years old;

(3) Have had four years practical mining experience or have had three years practical experience in or around coal mines and be a graduate of a school accredited by the American Association of Universities or have satisfactorily completed an associate degree program in mine technology at an approved state trade school or university;

(4) Present with his application an affidavit of his meeting the foregoing requirements and of his good moral character and known temperate habits, which affidavit shall be signed by three reputable citizens, at least one of whom shall be the holder of a mine foreman's certificate; and

(5) Present with his application an affidavit that he is not a member of any political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States by force.

(a) Coal dust shall not be allowed to accumulate excessively along conveyor lines, roadways, at loading points or at underground tipples, but shall be loaded and sent out of the mines. Coal dust in dangerous quantities in abandoned areas shall, where practicable be rendered inert.

(b) Where mining operations raise an excessive amount of dust into the air currents, water or water with a wetting agent added to it or other effective methods shall be used to allay such dust at its source.

(a) Rock dust to be used to render coal dust inert shall come within the following specifications:

Combustible matter not more than five percent by volume, quartz or free silica particles not more than five percent by volume, and not unduly absorbent of moisture and preferably light in color. Rock dust shall be pulverized so that 100 percent will pass through a 20 mesh screen and 70 percent or more will pass through a 200 mesh screen.

(b) Rock dust shall be applied and maintained upon the top, floor and sides of all open places, passages and haulageways in such quantities that the incombustible contents of mine dust that could initiate or propagate an explosion will not be less than 65 percent, but the incombustible content in the return air courses shall be no less than 80 percent. Rock dust shall be so applied and maintained to include the last open breakthrough of rooms and entries and to within 40 feet of the faces or closer if necessary.

(c) In back entries and air courses, rock dust barrier protection in lieu of generalized rock dusting may be authorized by the chief of the division upon request by the operator. The chief of the division will prescribe the methods of protection that may be substituted.

(d) Where methane is present in any ventilating current, the percentage of incombustible content shall be increased one percent and four-tenths percent for each one-tenth percent of methane where 65 and 80 percent, respectively, of incombustibles are required.

(e) Mines or locations in mines that are too wet or too high in incombustible content for a coal dust explosion to initiate or propagate are not required to be rock dusted during the time such conditions prevail.

Each applicant for a fire boss's certificate of competency shall meet the same qualifications as those for a mine foreman; except that three years' practical experience in or around coal mines is substituted for the requirements of subdivision (3) of Section 25-9-11, and at least one of the persons signing the affidavit shall be holder of a fire boss's or a mine foreman's certificate.

In case of the loss or destruction of a certificate of competency, the department may supply a copy thereof to the person losing same upon the payment of $1.00, provided that it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the department that the loss has actually occurred and that the loser was the holder of such certificate.

(a) Permissible explosives or permissible blasting methods only shall be used in blasting coal or coal and other material in all mines where on shift.

(b) Black blasting powder shall not be stored or used in underground coal mines.

(c) Prior to use of Cardox or Airdox, both of which are classed as permissible blasting methods, or any other blasting device or method that may later be classed as permissible, the operator must secure written approval from the chief of the division. The chief in granting approval will issue instructions as to storage, transportation, handling, charging, tamping, detonating and handling misfires. These instructions will be made conditions of the approval, and violations of any of them will be considered violations of this section.

(d) Prior to use of dynamite or any other nonpermissible explosive for blasting in rock tunnels, shafts, etc., the operator must secure written approval from the chief of the division. The chief in granting approval shall issue instructions as to storage, transportation, handling, charging, tamping, detonating and handling misfires. These instructions shall be made conditions of the approval, and violations of any of them will be considered violations of this section.

(a) Separate surface magazines shall be provided for the storage of explosives and detonators and shall be kept in good repair.

(b) Magazines shall be constructed of or covered with fire and weather resistant material, shall be reasonably bullet proof and shall have no metal or sparking material exposed inside the magazine. When a magazine is used for more than one type of explosive, each type shall be stored separately.

(c) The only openings shall be doors for entrance, which shall be securely locked when unattended, and properly screened vents.

(d) If artificial light is needed, only an electric flashlight, electric lantern or electric cap lamp shall be used. Smoking, carrying of smokers' articles or open flame are prohibited in or within 25 feet of any magazine. Combustible materials, including rubbish and dry grass, shall be kept clear of any magazine for a distance of 25 feet in all directions.

(e) Other material shall not be stored with explosives or detonators and metallic tools shall not be used for opening containers of explosives.

(f) Distributing magazines, constructed of two inch hardwood, or metal lined with nonsparking material or an equivalent may be used for storage or distribution of not more than 125 pounds of explosives or 5,000 detonators. No magazine shall be placed in a building containing any highly flammable material or waste and shall be at least 20 feet from a stove, furnace, open fire or flame.

(g) All magazines shall be not less than 200 feet from any mine opening, unless effectively barricaded, and suitable danger signs shall be placed near all magazines.

(a) Individual containers used to carry permissible explosives or detonators shall be constructed of substantial, nonconductive material, kept closed and maintained in good condition.

(b) When explosives or detonators are transported underground by locomotive, rope or shuttle car they shall be in covered cars or in special containers.

(1) The bodies and covers of special cars and containers shall be constructed of nonconductive material.

(2) If explosives and detonators are hauled in the same explosives car or in the same special containers, they shall be separated by at least a four-inch substantially fastened hardwood partition or the equivalent.

(3) Where quantities of explosives and detonators are transported in special cars or in special containers in cars, they shall be hauled on a special trip not connected to any other trip, and shall not be hauled into or out of a mine within five minutes preceding or following a man-trip or any other trip.

(4) Explosives or detonators shall not be transported on the same trip with workmen other than those required in the transportation of the explosives or detonators.

(c) Explosives and detonators shall be transported underground by belt only under the following conditions:

(1) In the original and unopened case, in special closed cases constructed of nonconductive material or in suitable individual containers.

(2) Clearance requirements shall be the same as those for transporting men on belts.

(3) Suitable loading and unloading stations shall be provided.

(4) There shall be an attendant at loading and unloading points and stop controls at these points.

(d) Explosives or detonators shall not be transported on flight or shaker conveyors or by scraper or mechanical loading machines.

(a) Underground section boxes or magazines shall be constructed of substantial nonsparking material and shall be placed in a crosscut or idle room neck at least 25 feet from roadways, trolley wires or power lines, at least 75 feet from any working face and in a reasonably dry and well rock dusted place, free of oil, grease or other debris.

(b) Explosives and detonators shall be stored separately and at least five feet apart. Not more than a 48-hour supply of explosives and detonators, including any surplus remaining from the previous day, shall be stored underground in section boxes or magazines. This maximum 48-hour supply will include supplies in individual or face boxes where used.

(c) A one day's supply of explosives and detonators may be kept in individual or face boxes. Those boxes shall be wooden with hinged lids and shall be kept not less than 15 feet from roadways, trolley wires or power lines; provided, that 15 feet may be reduced to five feet when the boxes are kept in a niche in the rib at least 75 feet from any working face and in a location out of line of blast where they will not likely be subjected to shock. Separate boxes, kept at least five feet apart, shall be used for explosives and detonators.

(d) Explosives and detonators shall be kept in their containers until removed for use at the working faces.

(e) Care shall be exercised to use the oldest explosives from storage before new supplies are used so that explosives will not remain in underground storage long enough to deteriorate.

(a) Only competent persons shall be designated or permitted to handle explosives or do blasting. Only electric detonators of proper strength may be used and the use of delay electric detonators is prohibited for blasting coal or coal and other material. Primers shall be made up as needed for blasting and prepared in accordance with the safety standards of the Institute of Makers of Explosives or of the manufacturer of the explosives as approved by the chief; provided, however, that nothing provided in this subsection shall prohibit the use of permissible milli-second blasting in conformity with the requirements, exceptions, limitations, conditions and restrictions on the use thereof established or hereinafter established by the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior.

(b) Care shall be used in placement and drilling of holes. Test roof, face, ribs and timbers for dangerous conditions before drilling or preparing holes. Certified official or approved competent persons must test for methane with approved methane detectors before drilling with electric powered drills and before charging bore holes.

(1) Bore holes shall not be drilled beyond the back of the cut or cutting shot nor into the solid ribs, roof or floor.

(2) Where it is impractical to undercut, top cut or shear the coal face and solid shooting is necessary, depending shots are prohibited. The method of placing and firing holes is subject to approval by the chief.

(3) Bore holes shall be cleaned and checked to see that they are placed properly and are of correct depth in relation to the cut before being charged.

(4) To prevent blown-out or windy shots, all portions of the bore holes, where the height of the coal permits, shall have a burden in all directions of at least 18 inches before being fired.

(c) Charges shall not exceed one and one-half pounds in bore holes under six feet in depth. Charges exceeding one and one-half pounds but not exceeding three pounds may be used only if bore holes are six feet or more in depth, have a burden in all directions of at least 18 inches and class A or class B permissible explosives are used.

(d) Bore holes shall be charged with explosives in a continuous train with no cartridges deliberately deformed or crushed, with all cartridges in contact with each other, and with the end cartridges touching the back of the hole and the stemming respectively.

(e) Bore holes shall be tamped with wooden tamping bars, and shall be stemmed with at least 24 inches of incombustible material or at least one half of the length of the hole shall be so stemmed if the hole is less than four feet in depth. Water-filled plastic bags for stemming may be used under the following conditions:

(1) The bags shall be made of polyvinyl chloride not less than six mils in thickness or equivalent in tear resistance and noninflammability.

(2) The bore hole shall be stemmed with at least one water-filled bag not less than 15 inches in length and within one fourth of one inch of the bore hole diameter. Short bore holes may not accommodate the entire bag, but this shall be acceptable.

(3) The bags shall be equipped with self-closing valves or equivalent leakproof protection.

(4) To prevent puncturing, the water-filled bag shall be pushed gently into the bore hole until it touches the charge of explosives and shall not be tamped or forced.

(f) In mines where shooting is done on shift, all shots or series of shots shall be fired promptly after charging and in the following manner:

(1) Remove shunts or untwist ends of leg wires of electric detonators and connect to firing cable.

(2) Move away from face, paying out cable and being sure cable does not contact pipe, pan line or other material that may carry stray currents. Keep leg wires and firing cable up out of water.

(3) Take firing position in protected place around at least one solid corner or in an adequate shelter hole.

(4) Give ample warning before shots are fired and ascertain that all persons are in the clear. See to it that men are removed from adjoining working places when there is possibility of a shot breaking through.

(5) Unshunt ends of firing cable, attach to blasting unit, call 'Fire! Fire!' with intervals between each warning and set off charge.

(6) Disconnect firing cable and reshunt ends.

(7) Wait for smoke to clear and immediate roof effect to take place.

(8) Return to face, reeling up firing cable and make tests of face, roof, ribs and timbers for dangerous conditions. In mines classed as gassy, a certified official or approved competent person must make a gas examination on return to the face after blasting.

(9) If gas or other dangerous conditions are found that cannot be made safe in normal course of work, mark place out with DANGER sign and report to mine foreman or supervisor in charge.

(g) Holes shall not be drilled, charged or fired in any place where methane gas can be detected at one percent or more on an approved methane detector.

(h) In mines where shooting is done from the surface with all men out of the mine, a separate blasting circuit must be provided with a switch kept locked when not in use for blasting or written approval of the chief of the division must be secured. Requests to use power or a signal circuit for blasting with all men out of the mine, shaft or slope must state precautions taken to guard against electrocution and premature detonation hazards. Approval by the chief will be conditioned on compliance with these precautions, violations of which will be considered violations of this section of the law.

(i) Mixed charges shall not be charged or fired in any bore hole.

(j) The firing of adobe (mudcap) or other open, unconfined shots is prohibited in any mine.

Blasting cables shall be:

(1) Kept well insulated and as long as may be necessary to permit the shot firer to get in a safe place around a corner.

(2) Short circuited at the battery end until ready to attach to the blasting unit.

(3) Staggered as to length or kept well separated when attached to the detonator leg wires.

(4) Kept clear of power wires and all other possible sources of active or stray currents.

(a) Where misfires occur with electric detonators, the person firing the shots shall disconnect his firing cable from the source of power and short circuit it by reshunting the ends of the cable. No person shall return to the shot until five minutes has elapsed from the misfire, and the firing cable must not be left behind anyone returning to the face.

(b) If a defect in the firing cable or connections is found, another attempt may be made to fire the shot or shots, exercising such cautions as covered in Section 25-9-134, subsection (f), subdivision (5).

(c) If the misfire is definite, explosives shall be removed by drilling and firing the bore hole for a separate charge at least two feet away from and parallel to the misfired charge, or by washing the stemming and the charge from the bore hole with water or by inserting and firing a new primer after the stemming has been washed out.

(d) A very careful search of the working place, and if necessary, of the coal after it reaches the tipple, shall be made after blasting a misfired hole, to recover any undetonated explosive.

(e) The handling of a misfired shot shall be under the direct supervision of the mine foreman, his assistant or any competent person designated by the mine foreman or his assistant.

(f) If fuses and caps are used for blasting on the surface, misfires may not be approached by anyone until six hours have elapsed, and handling of the misfire must be done with due care and under direction of a supervisor or other competent person.

A prompt report shall be made to the chief of the division in any case of premature detonation or explosion of explosives, whether or not any person is injured.

Any person who shall forge or counterfeit a certificate or knowingly make or cause to be made any false statement in any certificate of competency provided for in this chapter or in any official copy of the same, or who shall utter or use any false certificate or unofficial copy thereof or shall make, give, utter, produce or make use of any false declaration, representation or statement in any such certificate or copy thereof or any document containing the same or shall make any false statement or misrepresentation in his application before the examining board for any certificate, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and his certificate shall be cancelled or annulled by the examining board.

(a) The board may issue an official written reprimand of any person certified under this chapter as a disciplinary measure for a first violation of any requirement of this chapter.

(b) In addition, for any subsequent violation or for any serious first violation, the certificate of any person may be cancelled or revoked by the board of examiners, whenever it shall be established to the satisfaction of the board that the holder of the certificate has become unworthy of official endorsement by reason of violation of this chapter, intemperate habits, manifest incapacity, abuse of authority, or for other causes satisfactory to the board. Any person against whom charges are made shall have an opportunity to be heard in his or her own behalf. He or she shall have at least 30 days' notice in writing of the charges by the ex officio chairman, and, if the holder of a certificate is convicted on the hearing of the charge of violating any part of this chapter, his or her certificate shall be revoked by the board. The director, after a thorough investigation, may suspend the holder pending a meeting of the board of examiners and its final action.

(c) In addition to the reasons specified in subsection (b) for revocation of a certificate, a certificate holder may voluntarily surrender his or her certificate upon written request to the board for any reason acceptable to the board, and subsequent approval by the board. Pursuant to administrative rule, the board shall specify those reasons that are acceptable to the board for the voluntary surrender of a certificate.

(a) No person shall build a fire or cause a fire to be built in any coal mine, except as provided hereinafter.

(b) Torches may be used by competent persons in mines for splicing trailing cables, provided suitable precautions are taken against ignition of methane, coal dust or combustible materials. Torches must be maintained at all times in good operating condition and leakproof.

(c) Welding and burning may be done in mines provided all equipment and gauges are maintained in good order and not abused and suitable precautions are taken against ignition of methane, coal dust or combustible materials. Only persons who have demonstrated competence in welding and burning are entrusted to do this work. Adequate eye protection will be used by all persons doing welding or burning, and precautions shall be taken to prevent other persons from exposure that might be harmful to their eyes.

Certified officials or approved competent persons shall examine for gas with approved methane detectors before welding or burning and at 20-minute intervals until work is complete.

When torches are used and welding and burning is done, a minimum of 150 pounds of rock dust and/or a 2A 10-B:C fire extinguisher shall be provided for prompt extinguishing of fires accidentally started.

(d) Approval of the chief of the division will be secured before firing coal seams in connection with gassification or other mining methods that may be practiced experimentally or commercially entailing controlled burning of coal in mines. Before granting approval, the chief will ascertain that the proposal entails no undue hazards to persons and that public property and property of other owners will not be endangered.

In any mine or part of a mine which will be neither fire-bossed nor worked on the following shift, a supervisor or other responsible person shall examine all working places after face work ceases for evidence of fire.

(a) Oiling or greasing of mine cars inside coal mines is permitted only when the work and storage areas are kept reasonably clean at all times. Storage of oil or grease for this purpose is limited to three barrels, and must be in a fireproof compartment connecting with return airway direct to the surface and without contacting active workings.

(b) Lubricants for use in underground shops must be kept in approved portable containers, kept securely closed when not in use and are not to exceed a one day's supply; provided, that more than a one day's supply may be stored underground in reasonable quantities if stored in a fireproof compartment connecting with return airway to the surface and without contacting active workings.

(c) Lubricants for use in sections using mechanical equipment must be kept in approved portable containers, kept securely closed when not in use in minimum quantities required for operations, not exceeding 48 hours.

(d) All points at which lubricants are used, kept or stored shall be kept reasonably clean and free of avoidable spillage.

(e) Five hundred pounds of rock dust or sand or a 2A 10-B:C fire extinguisher shall be kept convenient to each oil or grease storage area in mines.

(f) Two hundred pounds of rock dust or sand or a fire extinguisher suitable for use in class A fires will be kept convenient to each set of doors used for ventilation in mines.

(g) Five hundred pounds of rock dust or sand or a 2A 10-B:C fire extinguisher shall be kept convenient to each station or room containing mine transformers, rectifiers, motor generator sets, battery chargers, permanent pump or air compressor control rooms and such other stationary and permanent or semipermanent equipment as may be classed by the chief of the division as a serious hazard in event of fire.

No underground stables shall be constructed or used in coal mines after August 12, 1949, and straw for bedding or hay for feeding animals shall not be sent into coal mines. This does not apply to mines stabling animals underground on August 12, 1949. Rules for preventing fires and for maintenance of such stables and for handling straw and hay shall be prescribed in writing by the chief. Failure to comply with these rules shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

(a) The first person to discover a fire and any person in the vicinity shall take prompt steps to extinguish the fire.

(b) If the fire cannot be quickly extinguished, word shall be sent immediately to a competent official of the mine, who shall take charge and order all workmen out of the affected area except those designated for fire fighting.

(c) If the fire gets out of control, workmen shall be withdrawn pending action to flood or seal off the affected area. The phase shall be under the direction of the senior mine official available, in consultation with the chief of the division or a designated inspector.

Immediately upon knowledge of serious fire in or about a mine, the operator shall report by the quickest available means to the chief of the division giving all information known to him. Based on the information, the chief shall take prompt action to go in person or dispatch qualified subordinates to the scene of the fire for consultation, and assist in the extinguishing of the fire and the protection of exposed persons. In event of difference of opinion as to measures required, the decision of the chief or his designated subordinate shall be final, but must be given to the operator in writing to have the force of an order.

Any fire boss in a mine who fails to perform any duty imposed on him by the laws of this state as fire boss shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person shall act as fire boss in any coal mine in this state unless he is in possession of a certificate of competency. Anyone holding a mine foreman's certificate of competency may serve as fire boss. Whenever any exigency arises by which it is impossible for any operator, owner or lessee to secure the immediate service of a certified mine foreman or fire boss, he may employ a person who has the same qualifications by experience, concurred in by the chief or mine inspector delegated by the chief, to act as temporary mine foreman or fire boss for a period not to exceed 15 days. The requirements for a temporary mine foreman or fire boss shall be no more severe than those contained in federal regulations.

(a) All surface transformers, unless of 'dead front' construction or if installed at least eight feet above ground, shall be enclosed in a house or surrounded by a fence at least six feet high. If the enclosure is of metal, it shall be grounded effectively. The gate or door to the enclosure shall be kept locked at all times unless authorized persons are present.

(b) Underground transformers installed after August 12, 1949, shall be aircooled or nonflammable liquid cooled.

(c) Underground stations containing transformers or circuit breakers filled with inflammable oil shall be provided with door sills or their equivalent which will confine the oil if leakage or explosion occurs, and shall be of fireproof construction.

(d) Transformers shall be provided with automatic cutouts.

(e) All underground transformers or conversion equipment, whether permanent or portable, shall be kept in housings of fireproof construction; provided, that equipment designed and constructed to be fireproof is exempted from this requirement.

(f) The operator of every mine where permanent transformers or conversion equipment is installed underground shall designate or cause to be designated on the map provided for by law the locations of transformer and conversion equipment stations.

(g) 'Danger - High Voltage' signs shall be posted conspicuously on all transformer enclosures, high-potential switchboards and other high-potential installations.

(a) All power circuits entering a mine shall be protected against lightning by lightning arrestors at or near the points of entrance to the mine. All power circuits shall be protected against lightning or other surges by adequate circuit breakers, fuses or both.

(b) All power wires, except trailing cables and ground wires, whether bare or insulated, shall be supported on well-installed insulators and shall not touch combustible material, roof or ribs. Power wires or cables installed prior to August 12, 1949, in locations inaccessible without prohibitive expense may be continued in use if approved by the division.

(c) Power wires shall be insulated properly when passing through doors and stoppings and where they cross other power circuits.

(d) Signal wires and telephone wires shall be run at a safe distance and, where possible, shall be placed on the opposite side of the slope or heading from the power wires.

(e) Where track is used as a power conductor:

(1) Tracks shall be bonded and cross-bonded in such manner as to assure adequate return.

(2) Switches on entries shall be well bonded.

(f) Employees called upon to do work on energized electric circuits or energized parts of electrical equipment shall use properly tested lineman's electric gloves and leather protector gloves.

(g) Trolley and feeder wires shall be installed as follows:

(1) Aligned properly and where installed after August 12, 1949, at least six inches outside the track gauge line.

(2) Provided with cutout switches at intervals of not more than 2,000 feet and near the beginning of all branch lines.

(3) Kept taut and not permitted to touch roof, rib or cross bars. Particular care should be taken where they pass through door openings to preclude bare wires coming in contact with combustible material.

(4) Trolley or bare feeder cables shall be guarded adequately where it is necessary for men to pass or work under them regularly unless the wires are more than six and one-half feet above the top of the rail. They shall also be guarded adequately on both sides of doors and regardless of height at all stations designated for loading and unloading of mantrips and at sand boxes.

Where grounding wires are used to ground metallic sheaths, armors, conduits, frames, casings and other metallic enclosures, such grounding wires must comply with the following conditions:

(1) The cross-sectional area (size) of the grounding wire shall be at least one-half the cross-sectional area (size) of the power conductor where the power conductor used is No. 6 A.W.G. or larger.

(2) Where the power conductor used is less than No. 6 A.W.G., the cross-sectional area (size) of the grounding wire shall be equal to the cross-sectional area (size) of the power conductor.

(a) Circuit breakers or other overload devices shall be provided to protect power circuits.

(b) Insulating platforms of dry wood, rubber or other suitable nonconductive material shall be kept in place at each switchboard, underground telephone station, power control switches and at stationary machinery where shock hazards exist; provided, that metal plates on which a person normally would stand and which are kept at the same potential as the grounded, metal noncurrent-carrying parts of the power switches to be operated may be used.

Telephone service or approved equivalent means of communication shall be provided at the bottom of each main shaft or slope and in all mines from the surface to the working sections of the mine where the mine workers are more than 1,500 feet from the surface.

(a) Electric drills or other electrically operated rotating tools intended to be held in hands shall have the electric switch constructed so as to break the circuit when the hand releases the switch or shall be equipped with friction or safety clutches.

(b) All new trailing cables installed after November 21, 1975, shall meet the requirements set out by the Secretary of the Interior in Bureau of Mines schedule 2G and in subsequent revisions.

(c) Cables for portable underground electric equipment shall be provided with suitable overload protection and power taps, unless properly connected to permissible junction or distribution boxes.

Electric lights shall be installed so that they cannot come in contact with combustible materials. The wires shall be supported by suitable insulators and fastened securely to the power conductors.

No person shall be employed as mine foreman in any underground coal mine in this state unless he is in possession of a certificate of competency as provided for in this chapter.

The mine foreman or subordinate supervisor shall visit each working place on operating days to assure that proper conditions are maintained in the mine as to timbering, ventilation, supplies and all other conditions pertaining to the safety of the men. He shall further direct and cause to be made a weekly inspection, and more often if necessary, of all accessible abandoned areas in the mine.

(a) It shall be the duty of the mine foreman and his subordinate supervisors to ascertain that all workmen are trained in proper methods of testing the roof, face and ribs. The mine foreman shall designate the tool or tools to be used for testing.

(b) Face workers and other employees whose work exposes them to hazards of falls of rock and coal shall thoroughly test the roof, face and ribs before starting work or before starting a machine and frequently thereafter. The required test may be made by any competent person for a crew. No person shall start work in a place tested by another unless he is satisfied as to the thoroughness of the test, or until after he himself has made a test.

(c) If the roof, face or rib conditions are found to be unsafe, they shall be corrected by taking down loose material or securely supporting the same before work is started.

(d) If roof, face or rib conditions are found to be unsafe and cannot be corrected by normal taking down or supporting practices, the place shall be guarded or danger boarded to prevent unauthorized entrance and the supervisor shall be promptly notified. The supervisor shall take the necessary action to correct the dangerous condition, delegating for this work only men who are capable.

(e) Precautions as outlined in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section shall be taken at any time during work that unsafe roof, face or rib conditions are found to exist.

(f) At least once each shift the supervisor shall examine the roof, faces, ribs and timbers or supports of all working places for unsafe conditions. Unsafe conditions found shall be corrected promptly.

(g) The mine foreman or subordinate supervisor shall examine or cause to be examined by a competent person the condition of the roof and ribs of passageways where men travel, at least once each 24 hours of operation. Unsafe conditions found shall be corrected promptly.

(a) Timbering or other adequate roof support systems suitable to the roof conditions and mining system of each mine or part of a mine shall be adopted, complied with and required. Additional timbering or supporting will be done where necessary.

(b) It shall be the duty of the mine foreman and his subordinate supervisors to ascertain that all workmen are trained in the proper methods of setting timbers or placing supports.

(a) The operator of each mine shall keep on hand at the mine a sufficient supply of timbers of suitable length and cap pieces to be used as required in timbering underground workings. Timbers and cap pieces in required quantities and lengths as ordered shall be delivered to the working places designated or in cars to the point at which cars are accepted by the miners.

In hand loading mines, the miner shall order timbers and cap pieces at least one day in advance in order to have in his working place a sufficient supply for his needs. He shall place his order with the mine foreman or subordinate supervisor, stating the number and length of timbers needed. In mechanical mining, the mine foreman shall set up a systematic procedure for ordering and supplying of timbers and cap pieces. When timbers are needed in any working place and are not available, no person shall work in that place.

(b) In mines using roof supports other than timber, it shall be the responsibility of the operator to maintain an adequate supply of materials required and to insure their delivery in sufficient quantities to the working places as needed.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, as used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) DIRECTOR. The Director of the Department of Industrial Relations or such other public officer, employee, board, commission or other authority that may by law be assigned the duties and authority of the Director of Industrial Relations under this chapter.

(2) CHIEF. The Chief of the Division of Safety and Inspection of the Department of Industrial Relations or such other public officer, employee, board, commission or other authority that may in emergencies be acting in the stead of the chief or may by law be assigned the duties and authority of the Chief of the Division of Safety and Inspection of the Department of Industrial Relations.

(3) HEAD MINE INSPECTOR. The employee of the Division of Safety and Inspection in charge of mine inspection or such other public officer, employee, board, commission or other authority that may by law be assigned the duties and authority of the head mine inspector.

(4) MINE INSPECTOR. A public employee assigned by the head mine inspector with the approval of the chief to make mine inspections as required by this chapter and other laws from time to time in such cases made and provided.

(5) SUPERINTENDENT. The person placed in overall charge of the operation of a coal mine or mines.

(6) OPERATOR. The owner, part owner, operator or lessee to whom the superintendent reports and is accountable for the operation. The operator may also be the superintendent.

(7) MINE FOREMAN. A person holding a valid certificate of qualification duly issued by action of the board of mine examiners. Such term also includes the person acting in the stead of a mine foreman appointed as provided under this chapter when a certified mine foreman is unavailable.

(8) SUPERVISOR. Such term may be used to designate mine foremen, assistants, section foremen, trafficmen, maintenance foremen, etc., and is restricted in this chapter to mean those persons employed by the operator or superintendent to manage all or a part of the mine operations.

(9) FIRE BOSS. A person holding a valid certificate of qualification duly issued by action of the board of mine examiners and also includes the person acting in the stead of a fire boss appointed as provided under this chapter when a certified fire boss is unavailable.

(10) APPROVED COMPETENT PERSON. A person who has at least nine months of practical experience, has knowledge of mine roof, timbering and ventilation, has good judgment and who has demonstrated knowledge of mine gases and use of permissible flame safety lamps, methane and oxygen detectors, such demonstration to be given and made of record in a manner prescribed by the chief of the division.

(11) APPROVED. A device, process, equipment or method approved by the chief; provided, that if any interested person so requests, the director shall review such approval.

(12) PERMISSIBLE. A device, process, or equipment or method heretofore or hereafter classified by such term by the United States Bureau of Mines when such classification is adopted by the chief and includes, unless otherwise expressly stated in this chapter, all requirements, restrictions, exceptions, limitations and conditions attached to such classification by said bureau.

Mines shall be given one complete inspection every 45 days, and more often if necessary. Special or partial or complete inspections shall be made when deemed necessary by the chief.

The department shall be furnished by the state all necessary instruments for measurement of the air and gases in coal mines, mine rescue equipment and whatever other apparatus the said department may need.

(a) Only competent engineers shall be placed in charge of or permitted to operate any engine used for conveying into and hoisting out of any coal mine. When men are being lowered or hoisted, an additional engineer competent to act in emergencies shall be present at the hoist controls. At all times when men are in the mine, a competent hoist engineer shall be available to receive notice or signals requiring his presence at the hoist engine controls. No engineer shall be required for automatically operated cages, elevators or platforms.

(1) Only authorized persons shall enter the hoist engine room and no person shall interfere with or intimidate the hoist engineer in the discharge of his duties. No person shall speak to the hoist engineer while the engine is in motion, except to give signals to him. This subdivision shall be posted on the door of each hoist engine house.

(2) Assigned and relief hoist engineers shall be given and required to take annual physical examinations to ascertain that no disability or infirmity has arisen that might expose others to hazards. No hoist engineer shall be removed as a result of a physical examination unless it is recommended by the examining doctor and it is established that his physical condition renders continued employment as hoist engineer potentially hazardous to lives and/or property.

(b) There shall be a dependable method of signaling, audible to the hoist engineer, from all landings in shafts and slopes. Signal codes, approved by the division, shall be used and posted prominently in the engine house and at all places where signals are given.

(c) Cages used for lowering and hoisting men shall have the following safety features:

(1) Approved safety catches, which shall at all times be kept in good working condition.

(2) Suitable covers of sheet iron or equivalent covers, at least one fourth of an inch thick, or its equivalent, and hinged to open upward.

(3) Bars or rings in sufficient numbers and so located that every person permitted on the cage will have a secure handhold.

(4) Bridle chains attached to the main hoisting rope above the socket, from the top crosspiece of the carriage or cage, so that no single chain may be used for lowering or hoisting persons.

(5) Automatic self-detaching hooks, unless the hoisting engine be equipped with automatic stopping device, effective to prevent overwinding.

(6) Secure floor or platform that will not tip or dump or effective locking device to prevent tipping or dumping, kept locked whenever men or supplies are being lowered or hoisted.

(7) Floor adequate to carry the load and constructed so that it will be impossible for a person's foot or body to enter any opening in the floor.

(8) Enclosed sides and gates, safety chains or bars across the ends of the cage.

(9) Daily inspection and a written record kept. A test of safety catches and of rope attachments shall be made on each inspection by the division in a manner approved by the chief, and results shall be noted in the report of inspection.

(d) Hoist engines shall have the following safety features:

(1) Adequate brakes capable of stopping and holding the fully loaded unbalanced cage or trip at any point in the shaft, slope or on the incline.

(2) An accurate and reliable indicator showing the position of the cage or trip shall be placed in clear view of the engineer.

(3) When men are being lowered or hoisted, the maximum speed shall not exceed 900 feet per minute.

(4) One round trip shall be made not more than one-half hour before hoisting or lowering men. Chainer may ride this check trip in slope hoisting.

(5) Inspected daily by a designated competent person and a record made of inspections.

(e) Hoist ropes shall have the following safety features:

(1) Adequate size to handle the load and a proper factor of safety as defined in the American Standards Association wire rope standards, and shall be replaced when use becomes dangerous as determined by inspection.

(2) The rope shall have at least three full turns on the drum when extended to its maximum working length and shall make at least one full turn on the drum shaft or around the spoke of the drum (in case of a free drum) and be fastened securely by means of clamps or other means approved by the chief of the division.

(3) The hoisting rope shall be fastened to its load by a zinc-filled socket, thimbles and clamps or other means approved by the chief of the division.

(4) Ropes shall be examined daily by a competent person and replaced when necessary. A record shall be made of all inspections showing condition of ropes and fastenings. Hoist ropes in shafts shall be kept well lubricated.

(f) Hoist shafts shall have the following features:

(1) All landings shall be kept clear and free from loose materials, and shall be securely fenced with automatic or other gates to prevent men or materials from falling into the shaft.

(2) At the bottom of each hoisting shaft and at all intermediate landings, a 'run-around' shall be provided for safe passage from one side of the shaft to the other so that men or animals are not required to pass under or across the cage. This passageway shall not be less than five feet in height and three feet in width.

(3) Positive stop blocks or derails shall be placed near all shaft landings.

(4) An attendant shall be on duty at the surface when men are being hoisted or lowered at the beginning and end of each operating shift and when men are working in the shaft. Where automatic elevators or cages are used, no attendants shall be required at the elevator or cage stations.

(5) Persons engaged in deepening a shaft in which hoisting from an upper level is going on shall be protected from the danger of falling material by a suitable covering extending over the whole area of the shaft, sufficient openings being left in the covering for the passage of men or a bucket or other conveyance used in the sinking operations. No hoisting shall be done in any compartment of a shaft while repairs are being made in that compartment, except such hoisting as is necessary in order to make such repairs.

(g) No person shall ride upon a cage, elevator, skip or bucket that is loaded with tools, timber, powder, coal rock or other material except as follows:

(1) When tools and supplies are required for repairs to the shaft, or when a rider is required to assist in passing materials through a shaft or incline. In those cases a special signal must be used and extra care exercised by the hoist engineer.

(2) When hand tools or small amounts of supplies are carried by workmen in one hand, leaving the other free to hold onto the bar or ring provided.

(h) When tools, timber or other materials are loaded so that their ends project above, they shall be securely fastened to the hoisting rope or to the upper part of the cage, skip or bucket.

(i) No coal or rock shall be hoisted in any shaft while men are being lowered.

(j) No person shall ride on a cage containing a loaded car or on a single deck cage with an empty car.

(k) When a bucket is used for hoisting, safety hooks must be used and adequate means must be employed to control the bucket against spinning or excessive swinging.

(l) No driver or other person shall be permitted to descend or ascend a shaft with any horse or mule, unless the said horse or mule is secured in a suitable box or safely penned, and only the driver in charge of said horse or mule and such assistants as he may need shall accompany it in any case.

(m) Workmen repairing shafts or tipples shall use safety belts when they are exposed to hazards of falls.

(a) Mine locomotives must be maintained so that brakes are adequate and in good order, sand riggings are operative and locomotives are in safe operating condition.

(b) Other rolling stock must be maintained so that its condition does not entail undue hazards to transportation crews or to workmen whose duties require them to work around the haulage.

(c) Cars must be kept reasonably tight to hold coal spillage within practical limits.

(d) Motormen shall inspect locomotives before operating and report conditions found that make operation hazardous. They shall exercise a degree of care of haulage equipment consistent with the type of service and conditions of operation.

(a) The roadbed, rails, joints, switches, frogs and other elements of the track of all haulage roads shall be constructed, installed and maintained in a manner consistent with speed and the type of haulage operations being conducted to insure safe operation.

(b) Track switches, except room and entry development switches, shall be provided with properly installed throws, bridle bars and guard rails. Switch throws and stands, where possible, shall be placed on the clearance side.

(a) Haulage roads on entries developed after August 12, 1949, shall have a continuous unobstructed clearance of at least 24 inches from the farthest projection of moving equipment, on the clearance side.

(b) On haulage roads where trolley lines are used, the clearance shall be on the side opposite the trolley lines.

(c) On the trolley wire or 'tight' side, there shall be six inches of clearance on track haulages developed prior to March 30, 1970, and 12 inches of clearance on track haulages developed after that date.

(d) After August 12, 1949, all new sidetracks, partings or entries equipped with more than one track shall have a clearance of at least 24 inches between the outermost projection of moving traffic.

(e) The clearance space on all haulage roads on entries driven before or after August 12, 1949, shall be kept free of loose rock, coal, supplies or other materials; provided, that not more than 24 inches need be kept free of such obstructions.

(f) In those exceptional instances where extremely thin seams of coal entail taking more rock than coal, the provisions of subsections (a) and (e) of this section shall be modified for room entries, such modification to be by the chief in writing; provided, that all persons shall be instructed to and required to use shelter holes when trips or cars are passing.

(g) In those exceptional instances where extremely bad roof conditions in thin seams require special timbering, the unobstructed clearance provided for in subsections (a) and (e) of this section may be regarded as measured from the rib or gob line, collar legs notwithstanding.

(h) Ample clearance shall be provided at all points where supplies are loaded or unloaded along haulage roads or conveyors.

(i) Where it is necessary for men to cross conveyors regularly and where the width of conveyors or low roof introduces a hazard, suitable crossover bridges shall be provided.

(j) Shelter holes shall be provided along haulage entries driven after August 12, 1949, where locomotive, rope or animal haulage is used. Such shelter holes shall be spaced not more than 80 feet apart. Except where the trolley wire is six feet six inches or more above the roadbed or guarded effectively at the shelter holes, they shall be on the side of the entry opposite the trolley wire.

(k) Shelter holes made after August 12, 1949, shall be at least five feet in depth, not more than four feet in width and six feet in height or as high as the traveling space if the traveling space is less than six feet high. Room necks and cross cuts may be used as shelter holes even though their width exceeds four feet.

(l) Shelter holes shall be kept clear of refuse and other obstructions.

(m) Shelter holes shall be provided at switch throws, except where more than six feet of clearance is maintained and at room switches.

(n) At each landing of a slope where men are passing and cars are handled, a shelter hole at least 10 feet deep, four feet wide and six feet high shall be provided.

(o) Where the only travelway to or from work is an incline plane, rope or locomotive roads on which men travel on foot while such incline planes, rope or locomotive roads are used for hoisting or haulage, shelter holes as specified in subsection (k) of this section shall be provided at not more than 80 foot intervals. These shelter holes shall be provided even though the travelway was driven prior to August 12, 1949; except, that they will not be required on locomotive roads where six feet or more clearance exists from the outermost projection of moving traffic, nor in those cases where adequate safeguards have been provided to secure men against exposure to danger from wrecks and such safeguards are approved by the division.

Nonpermissible internal combustion engines or other machinery which gives off noxious fumes shall not be permitted underground in any coal mine.

(a) Locomotives shall be equipped with proper devices for the rerailing of locomotives and cars.

(b) An audible warning device and headlights shall be provided on each locomotive.

(c) Approved trip markers shall be used on the rear of trips pulled or pushed and on the front of trips lowered into slopes. Markers are not required to be used during gathering operations at working faces. Permissible trip lights, efficient reflectors or closed nonpermissible trip lights are acceptable as trip markers.

(d) Other than the motorman and trip rider, no person shall ride on a locomotive unless authorized by the mine foreman, and no person shall ride on loaded cars or between cars of any trip; except, that the trip rider may ride on the part of the trip adjudged safest by the mine foreman and concurred in by the mine inspector, preferably the first or the last car. When officials or other persons authorized by the mine foreman, trafficman, haulage boss or dispatcher are transported on loaded trips, an empty car shall be placed between the locomotive and the first loaded car, or when physical conditions of haulage require it as a safety measure, the mine foreman may designate the rear of trips for the empty to be placed.

(e) Motormen and trip riders shall not get on or off the cars, trips or locomotives in motion; except, that a trip rider may get on or off the rear end of a slowly moving trip to throw a switch or perform other necessary haulage duties.

(f) Slides, skids or other adequate means shall be used on descending trips on grades where the locomotive or car tugger hoist is not adequate to control the trip.

(g) On any slope or plane where the grade is against loaded trip, a drag or other suitable device, adequate to derail cars or the trip of cars in case they break loose and run back, shall be used.

(h) Uniform haulage signals shall be adopted for each mine or mines operated, and shall be complied with by all haulage crews.

(i) Flying or running switches are forbidden. Mine rules as to block signals and other haulage practices not covered in these laws shall be complied with by all officials, haulage crews and other workmen.

(a) Man-trips shall be operated at safe speeds consistent with the condition of roads and type of equipment used, but not to exceed 12 miles an hour in mine cars or 15 miles an hour when special, substantially covered man-trip cars are used.

(b) Each man-trip shall be under the charge of a responsible person and it shall be operated independently of any loaded trip of coal or other material.

(c) Cars on the man-trip shall not be overloaded and sufficient cars in good mechanical condition shall be provided.

(d) No person shall ride under the trolley wire unless suitably covered man-cars are used.

(e) No material or tools shall be transported in the same mine car with men and all persons shall ride inside of man-trip cars, except the motorman and brakeman or person in charge of the man-trip. Where compartmented man-cars are used, tools or supplies, other than explosives, secured so that they cannot cause injury to men in other compartments, may be transported in a compartment designated for that purpose.

(f) Men shall not load or unload before the cars in which they are to ride or are riding come to a full stop and men shall proceed in an orderly manner to and from man-trips.

(g) A waiting station shall be provided where men are required to wait for man-trips or man-cages. At places where men enter or leave man-trip conveyances, ample clearance shall be provided and provisions made to prevent persons from coming into contact with energized electric circuits. Adequate seating facilities shall be provided.

(h) Where hoists are used for handling men in underground slopes, in pitching beds or on slopes between two or more beds, the provision as to mantrips applies and special care shall be exercised to insure that cars do not break loose while being hoisted or lowered.

(i) Where belts are used for transporting men, a minimum clearance of 18 inches shall be maintained between the belt and the roof or crossbars, projecting equipment, cap pieces, overhead cables, wiring and other objects, but where the height of the coal bed permits, the clearance shall not be less than 24 inches.

(j) The belt speed shall not exceed 300 feet a minute when vertical clearance is less than 24 inches and shall not exceed 350 feet a minute where clearance is more than 24 inches while men are being transported. Belt conveyors shall be stopped while men are loading or unloading.

(k) The space between men riding on a belt line shall be not less than five feet.

(l) Loading and unloading stations shall be illuminated properly.

(m) An official or some other person designated by the mine foreman shall supervise the man-trip loading and unloading of belts.

(a) The chief has the authority to administer oaths and to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses to testify under oath in any proceeding and to require witnesses to answer all questions propounded to them. The sheriff or constable in the county in which such witnesses may reside or be found shall execute subpoenas issued as above provided, and they shall each receive for their services in executing such subpoenas the same fees as are allowed them respectively for executing subpoenas in other cases. Any witnesses summoned as above mentioned shall be entitled to the same mileage and per diem as is now allowed by law to such witnesses attending trials in the circuit court.

(b) If any witness subpoenaed as above mentioned shall fail to attend without good excuse, in accordance with the subpoena served on him, or shall fail to testify when attending, the chief before whom said proceedings are being had shall certify to the failure of any witness to attend and testify to a judge of the circuit court in the county where such proceeding is being held. The judge to whom such certificate is made shall cause such witness to appear before him at a time fixed by said judge to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt and shall fine or imprison such witness as such judge may deem proper in case he is found guilty of contempt in the premises.

The expenses of executing subpoenas and the attendance of witnesses as well as contempt proceedings under Section 25-9-22 shall be paid out of any funds in the treasury of the state on certificate of the Director of Industrial Relations, approved by the Governor.

(a) The cutter chains of mining machines shall be locked securely at all times except when the machine is cutting, the chain is being oiled or tested after repairs or when the chain is moved to spot bits.

(1) When the chain is being oiled or tested after repairs, an operator must be at the controls ready to stop movement of the chain instantly. When the chain is being oiled, the bar must be free of the kerf and of material that might cause it to deflect, the person oiling must position himself before the chain is started, the chain must run in reverse and slowly and must be stopped and the lock replaced immediately after oiling is completed. Oiling devices or other methods that do not expose a workman to hazard from the moving chain may be used.

(2) When the chain is moved to spot bits, all persons must be in the clear of the bar and the lock must be replaced after the chain is moved and before the bits are spotted.

(3) When the chain is operated to test it after repairs, all persons must be in the clear of the bar and the lock must be replaced immediately after testing is completed.

(b) Care must be exercised at all times in the operation of mining and loading machines. Shields must be kept in place. Timbers removed by a cutting or loading crew must be reset or the roof otherwise secured. Care must be exercised to prevent persons not engaged in operation of machines from exposing themselves dangerously near the machines. Operators of machines that are self-tramming or machines that are loaded for tramming shall be alert to clearances and will observe all applicable laws and rules pertaining to haulage or movement of traffic.

(c) Conveyors and duckbills shall be properly installed and operated with care. Timbers removed in installing, moving or sluicing a conveyor shall be reset promptly or the roof otherwise adequately secured.

(d) Care must be exercised in setting of and working around jack pipes used in operation of mining machines, conveyors and loading machines.

(e) Operators of shuttle cars will satisfy themselves that brakes are adequate before and during operation and will exercise care to prevent knocking out timbers. They will promptly reset or report timbers unavoidably knocked out, will keep cars under control during operations and give warning before making turns or passing through curtains or other points of obstructed vision.

(f) Face equipment must be stopped before being lubricated, wiped or repaired, except as provided in subdivision (a) (1) of this section, and must not be restarted until persons oiling, wiping or repairing have given a clear signal. This does not apply to lubrication of equipment that is designed or modified so that lubrication may be performed without exposure to moving parts.

(g) The mine foreman and his assistants are responsible that operators of face equipment are trained in the requirements of their work before they are entrusted with operation of face equipment, other than while undergoing training by competent operators.

(h) The mine operator and the mine officials are responsible for seeing that face equipment is adequately maintained as to safe operating conditions. Equipment operators are responsible for exercising reasonable care in the operation of the equipment entrusted to them and for reporting defects known to them.

(i) All junction or distribution boxes used for making multiple power connections inby the last open crosscut shall be permissible.

(j) All handheld electric drills, blower and exhaust fans, electric pumps and such other low horsepower electric face equipment which are taken into or used inby the last open crosscut of any coal mine shall be permissible.

(k) All other electric face equipment which is taken into or used inby the last open crosscut of any coal mine shall be permissible.

(l) The operator of each coal mine shall maintain in safe condition all permissible type electric face equipment which is taken into or used inby the last open crosscut of any such mine.

(m) Trailing cables used in coal mines shall meet the requirements established for flame-resistant cables.

(n) Short-circuit protection for trailing cables shall be provided by an automatic circuit breaker or other no less effective device, approved by the chief of the division, of adequate current-interrupting capacity in each underground conductor. Disconnecting devices used to disconnect power from trailing cables shall be plainly marked and identified, and such devices shall be equipped or designed in such a manner that it can be determined from visual observation that the power is disconnected.

(o) When two or more trailing cables junction to the same distribution center, means shall be provided to assure against connecting a trailing cable to the wrong size circuit breaker.

(p) One temporary splice may be made in any trailing cable. Such trailing cable may only be used for the next 24-hour period. No temporary splice shall be made in a trailing cable within 25 feet of the machine, except cable reel equipment. Temporary splices in trailing cables shall be made in a workmanlike manner and shall be mechanically strong and well insulated. Trailing cables or hand cables which have exposed wires or which have splices that heat or spark under load shall not be used.

(q) When permanent splices in trailing cables are made, they shall be mechanically strong with adequate electrical conductivity and flexibility, effectively insulated and sealed so as to exclude moisture and vulcanized or otherwise treated with suitable materials to provide flame-resistant qualities and good bonding to the outer jacket.

(r) Trailing cables shall be clamped to machines in a manner to protect the cables from damage and to prevent strain on the electrical connections. Trailing cables shall be adequately protected to prevent damage by mobile equipment.

(s) Trailing cable and power cable connections to junction boxes shall not be made or broken under load.

(t) All electrical equipment shall be frequently examined, tested and properly maintained by a qualified person to assure safe operating conditions. When a potentially dangerous condition is found on electrical equipment, such equipment shall be removed from service until such condition is corrected. A record of such examinations shall be kept and made available to an authorized representative of the chief of the division and to the miners in such mine.

(a) Gears, sprockets, friction devices and couplings with protruding bolts or nuts, shafting and projecting shaft ends that are within seven feet of floor or platform level, belt or rope drives that are within seven feet of floor or platform level, fly wheels and circular and band saws and planers shall be guarded adequately.

(b) Grinders shall be installed and maintained in such manner that wheel speeds will not exceed rated speeds and reasonable protection is afforded against danger of flying particles and wheel disintegration.

(c) Repair pits shall be kept covered or guarded at all times when not in use to prevent falls into them.

(d) Machinery must be stopped before being lubricated, wiped or repaired and reasonable precautions must be taken to prevent other persons from restarting them while such work is in progress. This does not apply as to lubrication of machinery that is designed or modified so that lubrication may be performed without exposure to danger from moving parts.

Repairmen shall not operate machinery unless they are thoroughly familiar with requirements for safe operation. No person will order or require repairmen to operate machinery for moving or testing without ascertaining that the repairmen are thoroughly familiar with requirements for safe operation.

Unsafe conditions, known to any persons underground, that cannot be corrected by them in the course of their normal duties, shall be promptly reported to the mine foreman or direct supervisor. The supervisor to whom unsafe conditions are reported or who detects them in the course of his duties shall be responsible for seeing that they are corrected promptly and that exposure to danger of any person is prevented except as necessary in correcting the condition.

(a) In dangerously dusty locations, electric motors, switches and controls shall be of dust-tight construction or enclosed with reasonably dust-tight housing or enclosures. Open-type motors, switches or controls now in use in tipples and cleaning plants in dusty locations may be continued in use until such dust-tight equipment can be procured or until they can be corrected with reasonably dust-tight housing or enclosures.

(b) Structures shall be kept free of excessive coal dust accumulations.

(c) Where coal is dumped at or near air intake openings, reasonable provisions shall be made to prevent the dust from entering the mine.

(d) Where repairs are being made to the plant, proper scaffolding and proper overhead protection shall be provided for workmen wherever necessary.

(e) Welding shall not be done in dusty atmosphere or dusty locations, and firefighting apparatus shall be readily available during welding.

Naphtha or other flammable liquids in lamp houses shall be kept in approved containers or other safe dispensers.

(a) Stairways, elevated platforms and runways shall be equipped with handrails.

(b) Elevated platforms and stairways shall be provided with toeboards where necessary, and they shall be kept clear of refuse and maintained in good repair.

Good housekeeping shall be practiced in and around mine buildings and yards. Such practices include cleanliness, orderly storage of materials and the removal of possible sources of injury, such as stumbling hazards, protruding nails and broken glass.

(a) Oil, grease and similar flammable materials shall be stored in closed containers, separate from other materials so as not to create a fire hazard to nearby buildings or mines. If oil or grease is stored in a building, the building or the room in which it is stored shall be of fire-resistive material and well-ventilated. Tight metal receptacles shall be provided for oily waste.

(b) Smoking in or about surface structures shall be restricted to places where it will not cause fire or an explosion.

(c) Unless existing structures located within 100 feet of any mine opening are of reasonably fireproof construction, fire doors shall be erected at effective points in mine openings to prevent smoke or fire from outside sources endangering men working underground. These doors shall be tested at least monthly to insure effective operation.

Persons not employees of a coal mine or duly authorized employees of the Department of Industrial Relations shall not enter such mine unless the consent of the operator or his authorized representative has been secured and shall not stand on the tracks or go near the machinery or other place of danger.

Whoever shall, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, enter any coal mine or any of the buildings connected with the operation of same within the state, where miners or other workmen are employed, or whoever shall carry intoxicating liquors into the same shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

All other provisions of this chapter, except those obviously peculiar to underground operations and also those specifically provided for in this article, are applicable to surface mining operations. All provisions contained in this article applicable to surface operations of underground coal mines and not specifically covered elsewhere in this chapter apply to all coal mines.

(a) Guards. Excavations shall be provided with substantial barriers at points where passageways, tracks, roadways or buildings adjoin such excavation.

(b) Loose material. All pit walls shall be kept free of unsafe loose materials. Hazardous areas shall be flagged, and no work shall be permitted in such areas.

(c) Scaling. Safe, acceptable methods shall be used for removing loose materials from the highwalls.

(d) Slope of material. Spoil piles shall be kept safely sloped to prevent loose material from sliding into the work area.

(e) Overburden. The area immediately above the highwall shall be cleared to a safe distance to prevent loose hazardous material from falling into the pit.

(a) Access. Safe means of access shall be provided to all working places in any pit.

(b) Fastening ladders. All fixed ladders shall be properly installed, securely fastened and provided with back guards where necessary. At least three inches of toe clearance shall be provided.

(c) Incline of ladders. Under no circumstances shall any ladder inclining backward from the vertical be installed or used.

(d) Maintenance. Ladderways where used shall be maintained in safe condition and shall be inspected regularly.

(e) Steps. Where stairs are used, they shall comply with the requirements set forth in the basic safety manual, State of Alabama.

(f) Travel. Access to pits over railway haulage shall be provided with adequate warning signs.

(g) Walkway. Where access to pits is by walkway, it shall be properly graded, and if travel along the walkway is unsafe by reason of danger of falling into the pit, the walkway shall be protected by handrails. Drain ditches shall be laid out and both walk and drain ditches shall be kept free of broken stone, trash and debris at all times.

(a) Inspection. Shovels and draglines shall be inspected at the beginning of each shift, and such inspection shall include all mechanical equipment. Electrical equipment shall be regularly inspected by a qualified person.

(b) Maintenance. Where mechanical shovels and draglines are used at night, all lights shall be inspected before darkness, defective globes replaced and defective wiring repaired.

(c) Oiling. Mechanical equipment on shovels and draglines shall not be cleaned or oiled while in motion, except where so designed or modified as to make lubrication while in motion safe.

(d) Steps, etc. All steps, handrails, grab irons and floors shall be kept free from grease and extraneous material.

(e) Unauthorized person. No unauthorized person shall be allowed on any power shovel or dragline.

(f) Passage of persons. No person shall pass under the boom or bucket of a shovel or dragline while in operation.

(g) Warning. The operator of a shovel or dragline shall sound a warning prior to placing the machine in operation.

(a) Installations and inspections. All electrical equipment installations shall be approved and all electrical inspections made by a qualified person.

(b) Grounding.

(1) Where grounding wires are used to ground metallic sheaths, armors, conduits, frames, casings and other metallic enclosures, such grounding wires will be approved if:

a. The cross-sectional area (size) of the grounding wire is at least one-half the cross-sectional area (size) of the power conductor where the power conductor used is No. 6 A.W.G. or larger.

b. Where the power conductor used is less than No. 6 A.W.G., the cross-sectional area (size) of the grounding wire is equal to the cross-sectional area (size) of the power conductor.

(2) The protective grounding of electrical circuits and equipment to water pipe systems, when available, is desired as such grounding offers the most effective protection to life and property. Gas or air pipelines shall not be used for grounding circuits. Metal well casings, metal drain pipes and similar buried metal structures of considerable extent may be used in lieu of extended buried water piping systems.

(3) The ground connection to metallic piping systems shall be made by means of a suitable connection firmly attached to the pipe after all rust and scale have been removed, or by means of a brass plug which has been tightly screwed into a pipe fitting or, where the pipe is of sufficient thickness, screwed into a hole in the pipe itself or by other equivalent means. The grounding conductor shall be attached to the clamp or to the plug by means of solder or a suitable solderless connector.

(4) If conduit, couplings or fittings having protective coatings of nonconducting material, such as enamel, are used, such coating shall be thoroughly removed from couplings, conduits and such surfaces of fittings where the conduit or ground connection is secured in order to obtain a good connection.

(5) Artificial grounds should be located where practicable below permanent moisture level, or, failing in this, a suitable means of grounding shall be used.

(6) Where copper ground plates are used, they should be at least six hundredths of an inch thick. When driven pipes are used, they should be of galvanized iron and not smaller than three fourths of an inch internal diameter, and when cast iron plates are used they should be at least twenty-five hundredths of an inch thick.

(c) Insulation.

(1) All fixed electric light and power lines, regardless of voltage, shall be properly supported on standard insulators.

(2) Drop cord extension light lines shall be flexible with heavy rubber insulation, equipped with a heavy wire light globe shield, hook and heavy rubber handle.

(d) Trailing cables.

(1) Where employees are required to handle energized high voltage trailing cables, they shall be required to use cable tongs and wear rubber gloves. Where surroundings are wet, such employees shall also be required to wear rubber boots.

(2) Damage to the insulation of trailing cables shall be promptly reported and repairs made. Splicing shall be done only by a competent electrician or person competent to splice cables, and splices shall be made moisture-proof. Where it is necessary for mechanical equipment to cross a cable, safe cable bridges shall be provided and used. Where armored cables or conduit are used, the armor or metal conduit shall be electrically continuous, and, when necessary to splice armored cable, the broken section of the armor shall be bonded to insure electrical continuity.

(a) All exposed engines, wheels, screens, shafting, gears, belting or other moving equipment shall be covered or adequately guarded in such a way as to make employees safe from injury through contact with such equipment.

(b) The operator shall be responsible for the safe condition of tools furnished employees by the operator and shall not permit the use of tools which are unsafe or permit the misuse of any tools.

(c) The employee shall be responsible for the safe condition of tools he furnishes and shall not use any such tools which are not in safe condition for use.

(d) The employee shall promptly report to the superintendent or foreman any tool being used by him which is in an unsafe condition, and said tool shall be promptly replaced or made safe by the person furnishing it.

(a)(1) 'Blasting agent,' as used in this article, means any material consisting of a mixture of fuel and oxidizer which:

a. Is used or intended for use in blasting;

b. Is not classed as an explosive by the State Department of Transportation;

c. Contains no ingredients classed as an explosive by the State Department of Transportation; and

d. Cannot be detonated by a No. 8 blasting cap when tested as recommended in Bureau of Mines information circular 8179.

(2) The term 'explosives,' as used in this article, includes blasting agents, unless blasting agents are expressly excluded.

(b) Main explosive storage magazines shall be located outside of the pit and shall comply with Section 25-9-131. Blasting agents shall be stored in the manner prescribed by Part 181, Title 26, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and administered by the Internal Revenue Service.

(c) Explosives, excluding blasting agents, transported in motor trucks or other conveyances shall be transported in their original containers, and the motor trucks, vehicles and other conveyances shall be so constructed that the explosives will be protected against shock and friction and the containers against contact with any exposed metal. Motor trucks, vehicles or conveyances transporting explosives shall be plainly marked or placarded on both sides and the rear with the words 'Explosives - Dangerous' in letters not less than three inches high.

(d) Motor trucks, vehicles or other conveyances transporting explosives shall he handled in a safe and careful manner, and no person while smoking or under the influence of intoxicating liquor shall ride upon, drive, load or unload a vehicle carrying explosives.

(e) No person other than those authorized to transport, load or unload motor trucks, vehicles or other conveyances carrying explosives shall ride with any load of explosives.

(f) No tools, other than for truck repairs, detonators, matches or other flame producing materials shall be carried in any motor truck, vehicle or other conveyance transporting explosives unless adequately protected against sparking.

(g) Explosives, excluding blasting agents, shall not be transported in any form of trailer nor shall any trailer be attached to a motor truck, vehicle or other conveyance hauling explosives.

(h) All detonators shall be transported into the pit in the original containers or in suitable containers provided for the express purpose of transporting detonators or electric detonators.

(i) Persons engaged in transporting explosives, charging drill holes or handling explosives for any purpose shall not be permitted to smoke or to use or carry any open flame.

(j) Where explosives are transported by hand, the explosives shall be carried in the original or a suitable container and capped fuse or electric detonators shall be carried separately in a separate container.

(a) Only designated persons shall cut, cap and issue capped fuses and explosives.

(b) When cutting fuse, it shall be cut square across with a sharp clean instrument and the cap crimper used shall be of a type recommended by explosive manufacturers. A bench type crimper is recommended.

(c) No explosives container shall be opened with any metallic instrument.

(d) No person shall remove any explosives from a pit magazine without permission of the pit superintendent, foreman or a person designated by the operator.

(e) Capped fuse or electric detonators shall not be stored within 50 feet of other explosives, power lines, cables or other electrical conductors.

(f) Oils or other combustible substances shall not be stored within 50 feet of any explosives.

(g) Detonators shall not be removed from containers except as they are used for capping fuses or, in the case of electric detonators, as they are used in preparing primers, except when placed in other containers as recommended by manufacturers.

(h) Fuse shall not be cut and capped nearer than 50 feet to any explosives magazine.

(i) Paper, sawdust, wooden boxes or cartons shall be placed at a safe distance from any magazine, and each day's accumulation shall be removed at the end of the shift.

(j) Fuse shall be cut long enough to extend beyond the collar of a loaded drill hole, and in no case shall it be less than four feet in length.

(k) Small supplies of explosives or detonators stored in a pit shall be stored in magazines constructed in accordance with the specifications set forth in Section 25-9-131. In no case shall more than 200 pounds of explosives be stored at one time in such magazine.

(l) Magazines located in the pit should not be nearer than those standards set forth in the American Table of Distances for Storage of Explosives, a publication of the Institute of Makers of Explosives.

(m) No fuse shall be used that burns faster than one foot in 30 seconds or slower than one foot in 55 seconds according to the manufacturer's rating.

(n) In capping fuse, at least one inch shall be cut from the end of each coil or roll of fuse used.

(a) All blasting shall be done in a safe manner after all persons have been removed to a safe place.

(b) All blasting should be done electrically or with detonating fuse.

(c) Primers shall be made up near the working place by competent persons experienced in handling explosives. Competent persons shall also load, assist in loading or supervise the loading or charging of drill holes.

(d) Primers shall be prepared in accordance with safety standards of the Institute of Makers of Explosives or of the manufacturer of the explosives as approved by the chief. Holes made in the primer cartridge for the purpose of inserting the detonator shall be made with a wooden or other nonsparking implement.

(e) In tamping holes, only a wooden tamping bar or other nonsparking tamping bar shall be used. Before charging drill holes, except well holes, they shall be thoroughly cleaned. Explosives shall not be violently tamped in the drill hole but may be firmly charged; except, that undue pressure shall not be used against the primer cartridge when placing it in a drill hole. The primer cartridge shall not be slit.

(f) When a drill hole has been charged with explosives, it shall be filled to the collar with stemming material, as nearly free from rock as practical. The stemming material should be well tamped.

(g) No loading operations shall be carried on in working places where rock falling from the face or rolling rock is likely to endanger the loading operations. Working places shall be made safe for loading operations before loading is begun.

(h) Fuse igniters of the 'hot wire' type or punk or their equivalent shall be used for igniting safety fuse.

(i) The number of detonations shall be counted as far as possible. Misfires shall be reported to the authorized person responsible for blasting, and no person shall return to the vicinity of the suspected misfire until 30 minutes have elapsed in the case of fuse blasting and until 15 minutes have elapsed in the case of electrical blasting. No regular pit operations shall be conducted in the area where an unexpected detonation of a misfired hole shall endanger employees. Misfires, except in the case of vertical holes, shall be reblasted by inserting a new primer in the drill hole. In such case, stemming or tamping material may be washed from the drill hole with water before inserting the new primer.

(j) In case of misfire in a vertical hole, if it is not possible or safe to insert a new primer, a new hole may be drilled under the personal supervision of the person responsible for blasting, and such hole shall be started not less than two feet from the original drill hole and shall be drilled at such an angle as to eliminate all danger of meeting or coming closer than two feet of the original drill hole. In the case of sprung holes, the new drill hole shall be placed and carried at such an angle that there will be no possibility of its meeting any part of the misfire charge; provided, that in case of a misfired vertical drilled hole, it shall not be disturbed, nor any attempt made to fire it, without permission of the superintendent or person responsible for blasting.

(k) 'Bootlegs' or 'guns,' if the bottom of the hole cannot be seen, shall be washed out with water or cleaned with a wooden stick whether or not explosives remain in them. If explosives are found in such 'bootleg' or 'gun,' the hole shall be treated as a misfired shot. All persons working in an area where explosives are found in the muck pile shall be alerted, and caution shall be exercised in recovering such explosives. Such recovered explosive shall be removed and later destroyed following procedure recommended by the explosive manufacturers. Any leftover explosive, capped fuse or detonators remaining after loading the drill holes shall be returned to the storage magazine after loading operations have been completed.

(l) Oversize rock material set aside for blasting shall be examined to determine whether or not any unexploded powder remained in such rock or boulder. The person responsible for blasting shall determine whether or not rocks or boulders set aside for blasting are safe to drill.

(m) Boulders which must be broken by blasting shall be block holed. 'Adobe,' 'plaster' or 'mud-capped' shots shall be prohibited, except, that such shots may be permitted where no means of drilling such boulders is available; provided, that they shall then be fired under supervision of the person responsible for blasting.

(n) Where drill holes are sprung, the temperature of the chamber shall be determined before placing the final charge, and no hole shall be loaded with the final charge until the chamber has been cooled to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. No drill holes shall be sprung when adjacent to a loaded sprung hole.

(o) Cartridges shall not be forced into drill holes. Cartridges shall be placed in drill holes in the original wrapper.

(p) Where detonators are used, nothing less than No. 6 detonators or electric detonators shall be used to explode charges. Electric detonators from different manufacturers shall not be used in the same shot.

(q) One person shall not be allowed to light more than 10 fuses at one time.

(a) When loading or charging blast holes with electric detonators, all electric power within an unsafe distance of the place to be blasted shall be deenergized.

(b) Electric blasting with blasting machines or special circuit is permissible. With blasting machines, connections shall be made in series or in a combination connection recommended by the manufacturer. With power currents, connections shall be made in series, parallel or a combination of the two.

(c) When blasting is by means of a special blasting circuit, no one shall enter the place in which the blasting has been done until the permanent blasting wires have been disconnected from the source of electrical energy and the blasting switch has been locked in the open position.

(d) The person responsible for blasting shall be in charge of the blasting machine when it is in the pit. No other person shall connect the blasting machine to the leading wires, and such connection shall not be made until the area has been made safe preparatory to the firing. An audible warning shall be sounded prior to the blasting.

(e) Electric current from power circuits shall not be used for firing shots in a pit except when the electric connections to power circuits are made within the enclosed switch box described in these rules.

(f) Permanent blasting lines shall be kept well in the clear from all power circuits and from all pipes, rails, etc., and shall be run or strung at least 20 feet away from all power circuits.

(g) Grounded circuits or systems shall not be used for electrical blasting.

(h) Permanent blasting lines, safety switches and blasting switches shall be maintained by a competent electrician or other competent and experienced person.

(i) Leading wires from portable generating blasting devices or approved type batteries shall be not less than those recommended by the Institute of Makers of Explosives.

(j) Permanent blasting wires shall be so installed and maintained that they provide the current capacity required by the electrical firing device. All such wires shall be in conduit, shall consist of type 'S' cable or equivalent or shall consist of two rubber covered wires strung on glass insulators or porcelain knobs. If rubber covered wires are used, they shall be kept at least five inches apart.

(k) Connecting wires shall be not less than those recommended by the Institute of Makers of Explosives.

(l) At the location where the shot firing is to be controlled, there shall be installed a suitable blasting circuit enclosed externally operated pole switch with the handle or lever arranged to be locked in the 'off' position only.

(m) Where the blasting lines run to a single face to be blasted, a 'safety' switch of the same type as required for the blasting switch shall be installed between the switch and the face. This switch shall be installed in a safe location guarded from flying rock.

(n) Where a single blasting switch is used for several blasting circuits, a safety switch shall be installed in each circuit immediately adjacent to the blasting switch. In addition, a second safety switch shall be installed in the circuit adjacent to the area to be blasted.

(o) A blasting galvanometer or circuit tester especially designed for blasting work shall be used for testing.

(p) Leg wires of electric detonators shall be kept short circuited by means of a short-circuiting device or by twisting the ends of the leg wires together, except that the short-circuiting devices may be removed temporarily for the purpose of testing detonators with the galvanometer.

(q) Before connecting the temporary wires to the leg wires or bus wires, the ends of the temporary wires that are to be connected to the safety switch shall be 'shorted' by being twisted together. The man making or supervising the connection at the face must have the 'shorted' ends of the temporary wires in his possession, and, after making the connections at the face, he shall run the temporary wires to the safety switch. He shall never attach the temporary wires to the safety switch before attaching them to the leg wires or bus wires.

(r) At the safety switch, said man shall untwist the temporary wires, unlock the safety switch, attach the temporary wires to the safety switch and then place the safety switch in the 'on' position. He shall then proceed or signal to a designated person at the blasting switch, and he or such designated person shall unlock the blasting switch, throw it in the 'on' position to fire the shot, then immediately return the blasting switch to the 'off' position and lock it in that position. After blasting, no one shall go nearer the face that has been blasted than the safety switch until the safety switch has been opened, the temporary wires disconnected and the safety switch locked in the 'off' position.

(s) Loading and charging of blasting holes shall cease upon the approach of an electrical storm and shall not resume until conditions are safe. All persons shall be removed a safe distance from the charged area until conditions are safe.

(t) The minimum necessary number of persons shall be at the loading places when making the blasting connections. All other persons shall be a safe distance away from the loading place when blasting connections are made.

Any coal mine superintendent, mine foreman or assistant mine foreman, or any other person or persons operating or controlling a coal mine, who shall receive or solicit any sum of money or other valuable consideration from any of his or their employees for the purpose of continuing such employee in his or their employ or for the purpose of procuring employment for such employee or procuring or keeping places for such employee shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $50.00, nor more than $300.00 and shall be sentenced to hard labor for the county for a term of not less than six months.

(a) Explosives, excluding blasting agents, must be unloaded in a safe manner and at a safe distance from the blasting place.

(b) If several boxes of explosives, except blasting agents, are deposited near the blasting circuit, the boxes shall be stacked in an orderly manner and protected from the sun by means of canvas or similar material so placed as to allow free circulation of air under the canvas and around the stacked boxes.

(c) Where blasting is carried on in dangerous proximity to public thoroughfares, such thoroughfares shall be blocked off previous to blasting or guards shall be stationed at each end of the endangered portion of such thoroughfare and all traffic shall be halted, with no person or vehicle allowed within the danger zone. Guards shall be provided with a metal sign having the words 'Stop - Blasting' plainly printed thereon and shall also use a red flag for warning purposes.

(d) Packages containing explosives shall not be handled roughly, shall not be slid across floors, rocks or other packages of explosives and shall not be thrown or dropped. Frozen explosives shall not be thawed or used but must be destroyed.

(a) All compressed air receivers, cylinders or other vessels used in or around surface mining operations shall be protected by safety or relief valves to insure safe operation. All oxygen, acetylene or similar compressed gas cylinders shall comply with manufacturer's recommendations.

(b) Safety or relief valves shall be tested once each operating day.

(c) All compressed air receivers, tanks, etc., shall be equipped with a drain valve and a pressure gauge.

(d) Drain valves shall be operated at least once each operating day.

(a) At or near every pit there shall be adequate approved first aid materials as follows: one stretcher and one broken-back board, or, if a splint stretcher combination is used, it will satisfy both the stretcher and broken-back board requirement; 24 triangular bandages (15, if a splint-stretcher combination is used); eight four-inch bandage compresses; an adequate approved burn remedy; two cloth blankets; one rubber blanket or equivalent substitute; two tourniquets; one one-ounce bottle of aromatic spirits of ammonia and one dozen ammonia ampules; and necessary complements of arm and leg splints or two each inflatable plastic arm and leg splints. All such supplies shall be kept at each location designated and shall be accessible to the miners. First aid materials shall be kept in a sanitary and usable condition. The cloth and waterproof blankets shall be kept in a moisture and dustproof container. A portable first aid kit shall be kept as near the working place as feasible.

(b) Adequate and suitable first aid equipment shall be kept at or near every pit and placed at some convenient location about the pit for use only in caring for persons needing first aid attention.

(c) Selected personnel at each surface mining operation shall be trained in first aid methods.

(a) Approved sanitary toilets shall be provided and kept in a clean and sanitary condition. Such toilets should be in a central location for use by employees.

(b) Potable drinking water shall be provided for all employees.

(c) Individual drinking cups or bubbling fountains shall be provided.

In case of any occurrence or change of conditions tending materially to increase the hazards of pit operations, whether or not personal injury results, a report thereof shall be promptly sent to the department by the operator.

Any person acting as coal mine superintendent, mining engineer, other official or supervisor who gives orders that will require violation of this chapter, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

There shall be appointed by the Director of Industrial Relations a sufficient number of mine inspectors and other employees, including at least one qualified mining engineer.

No person under the age of 18 shall be employed to work or labor in or about any coal mine in this state.

The owner, operator or lessee of any underground coal mine in this state shall make or cause to be made by a competent engineer an accurate and exact detail map of said mine, showing the exact position of said mine in reference to the section line, which shall be connected with known boundary lines of the section or subdivision of the section. Such map shall show accurately the position of any branches, creeks, rivers, railroads, oil and gas pipelines under which said mine workings extend and, as near as possible, the position of any coal mines nearby. The location of all oil and gas wells shall be shown on said map. Said maps shall show all shafts, slopes, tunnels or other openings to the surface or to the workings of a contiguous coal mine; all excavations, entries, rooms and crosscuts; the location of the fan and the direction of the air currents; the location of pumps, hauling engines, engine planes, abandoned works, fire walls and standing water; and, the boundary line of any surface outcrop of the seam. A separate and similar map, drawn to the same scale in all cases, shall be made of each and every seam which shall be worked in any coal mine and the maps of all such seams shall show all shafts, inclined planes or passageways connecting the same. Each map shall also show by elevation in feet and decimals thereof the rise and dip of the seam from the opening in either direction to the face of the workings. Said map shall be sworn to by the engineer making the same. The map provided for in this section shall be filed with the department during the month of January next after the opening of said mine and shall show its condition on said January 1. All new work inside of the mine must be added to said map or a new map filed each year thereafter, showing the condition of the mine on January 1 of the same year and this provision for additions to maps shall apply to all maps which have heretofore been filed in the office of the department. Said maps shall be filed in the office of the department, which shall provide a suitable and safe place for keeping them. The department shall refuse to accept maps when made by persons known to be incapable of doing such work. The engineer preparing such map shall certify on each map as to the correctness of such map to the best of his knowledge and belief. Said map shall be made on a legible scale. The persons entitled to examine maps, plats and records of a coal mine shall be the owner, operator or lessee or agent of such coal mine, the person financially interested in such mine, the owner or owners of land adjacent to such mine, the owner, operator or lessee or agent of a coal mine adjacent to such mine and the authorized representative of the employees of such or the employees driving any breakthrough liable to break into an adjacent mine. The department shall not permit such maps, plans, records and papers to be removed from its office, and shall not furnish copies thereof to any person except by request of the owner, operator, lessee or agent of the mine to which such maps, plans and records pertain.

Whenever the operator of any coal mine shall neglect or refuse or for any cause not satisfactory to the department fails to furnish to it the map or plan of such mine or a copy thereof or of the extension thereto, as provided for in this article, such operator shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. In addition thereto, the department may make or cause to be made an accurate map or plan of such mine at the expense of the owner thereof, and the cost of the same may be recovered by law from the operator in the same manner as other debts by civil action in the name of the Director of Industrial Relations and for its use.

If the department shall find that any map or plan of any coal mine made or furnished in pursuance of the provisions of this article is materially incomplete, inaccurate or imperfect, then it may cause a correct survey and map or plan of said mine to be made at the expense of the operator thereof, the cost of which shall be recoverable from said operator as other debts are recoverable by law. When the department shall cause a new survey and map or plan of such coal mine and it is found that the map or plan furnished by the operator was substantially correct, then the cost of the survey, map or plan caused to be made by the department shall be paid by the state.

The department shall order a survey to be made between the regular survey periods of the workings of any coal mines and the results to be extended on the maps of the same and the copies thereof whenever, in its judgment, the safety of the employees, the support of the surface and the conservation of the property or the safety of an adjacent coal mine require it.

When any coal mine is worked out or is about to be abandoned or indefinitely closed, the operator of the same shall make or cause to be made a final survey where not already made of all parts of such mine, and the results of the same shall be duly extended on all maps of the mine and copies thereof, so as to show all excavations and the most advanced workings of the mine and their exact relation to the boundary or section lines on the surface, and such openings of abandoned mines shall be properly barricaded.

In no case shall the workings of any coal mine be driven nearer than 15 feet to the boundary line of the coal rights of the owner of said mine, except for the purpose of establishing an underground communication between contiguous mines as provided for elsewhere in this chapter. By mutual consent of adjacent property owners, this distance may be reduced or eliminated entirely, and any operator working up to an abandoned coal mine may be permitted to work to his property line, if approved by the department, but in such cases proper precautions must be taken as provided in this chapter.

Whenever the owner, operator or lessee of any land adjacent to other land on which any coal mine is being worked shall have reason to believe that such mine is being so worked as to encroach upon his land and has been refused by the owner, operator or manager of the mine permission at reasonable times to enter said mine with a competent engineer for the purpose of inspecting and surveying such mine, he may make appeal under oath to the probate court of the county in which the mine is situated, setting out the facts and praying for an order that such mine shall be surveyed. Upon the hearing, after such notice to the owner, operator or lessee of the mine as the court may prescribe, the court may make an order requiring the department to employ a competent engineer to make a survey of such mine and file such survey in the office of the judge of probate and such survey when filed shall be received in any court as prima facie correct. The court may at any time during the progress of the proceedings require security for costs and may tax the costs in such manner as may be just and equitable.

Any owner, operator or manager of any mine who refuses to permit an adjacent owner or lessee of land or a competent engineer selected by him to enter and inspect such mine for the purpose of ascertaining whether the same is being so worked as to encroach upon the land of such adjacent owner or lessee must, on conviction, be fined not more than $100.00.

The owner or operator of each coal mine at which the miners are paid by weight shall provide such mines with suitable scales of standard make for the weighing of all coal when contracted to be weighed.

All coal mined in this state contracted for payment by the ton or other measure shall be weighed or measured and the full weight or measure thereof shall be credited to the miner of such coal and 2,000 pounds shall constitute a ton of coal.

In all coal mines the miners employed and working therein may furnish a check weighman or check measurer who shall at all times have full access to and the right to examine the scales, and to see all measures and weights and accounts kept of same, and shall keep an accurate account of the coal, but not more than the above authorized persons shall have such right of access, examination and inspection of scales, measures and accounts at the same time.

The weighman and check weighman shall properly test the scales with U.S. standard test weights before coal is weighed thereon.

The mine inspector, miners employed in the coal mines and the owner of the land or persons interested in the rental and royalty of such mines shall at all times have full right of access to scales used at said mines, including tally sheets or tally books in which the weight of the coal is kept, to examine the amount of coal mined for the purpose of testing the accuracy thereof.

Any person or corporation operating any coal mine in which miners or other laborers are employed to mine or cut coal for a compensation to be determined by the weight of the coal mined or cut, who fails to weigh or causes to be weighed accurately and correctly any coal so mined or cut by such miners or laborers, must, on conviction, be fined for each offense not less than $10.00 nor more than $100.00.

(a) Whenever any equipment or supplies required by this chapter, including rock-dusting machines, flame safety lamps and permissible electric equipment are unobtainable, compliance with the requirements of this chapter with respect thereto is suspended to the extent that such items remain unobtainable until they are obtainable. Due allowance shall also be made for planning, institution of change procedures and installation of new equipment.

(b) Compliance with the requirements of this chapter shall be started promptly and prosecuted diligently until the provisions of the chapter have been fulfilled.

It shall be the duty of the superintendent, mine foreman, subordinate supervisors, fire bosses or mine examiners and other officials to comply with and to see that others comply with the provisions of this chapter.

It shall be the duty of all employees and check weighmen to comply with this chapter and to cooperate with management and the division in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Reasonable rules and regulations of the operators for the protection of employees and preservation of property that are in harmony with the provisions of this chapter or other applicable laws shall be complied with. They shall be printed on cardboard or in book form in the English language and posted at some conspicuous place about the mine or mines or given to each employee.

The operator of every coal mine shall make to the department a correct report each three months of the calendar year specifying the name of the owner and operator of the mine and the location of the offices of said coal mine or mines and the quantity and kind of coal produced in each such mine for each such calendar quarter. Said report shall be furnished on or before April 15, July 15, October 15 and January 15, covering the previous three months' operation of said mine. Said report shall be prima facie evidence of the information contained therein and shall be in such form and give such additional information regarding said mines as may be, from time to time, required and prescribed by the department. Blank forms for such reports shall be furnished to said owner or operator by the department.

For the purpose of making known the rules and provisions of this chapter to all persons employed in or about coal mines to which this law applies, an abstract of the law and rules shall be furnished by the department and posted up in legible character in some conspicuous place or places at or near the mines where they may be conveniently read by the persons employed and so often as they become obliterated or destroyed, the owner, operator, lessee or superintendent shall cause them to be renewed with all reasonable dispatch. It is unlawful for any person to pull down, injure or deface such abstract of the law or rules when put up in pursuance of the provisions of this chapter.

Any mine inspector shall have the authority to order suspension of operations of a coal mine or pit or any part thereof when violations of this chapter are of such gravity as to be or become imminently hazardous to workmen therein. Upon correction of such hazardous conditions, the mine or part thereof may resume operations.

The decisions and orders of an inspector shall take effect as he shall specify in a written notice to the superintendent of said mine and shall not be subject to review unless within 10 days after giving such notice the owner or operator shall have appealed to the chief for such review, who shall render a decision within 10 days of notice of appeal.

If the chief shall, upon review, continue or modify such order, the owner or operator may apply to the circuit court of the county wherein the mine is located for a trial de novo without jury as to whether or not (1) the order to close the mine was justified and (2) conditions in the mine at the time of trial justify a continuance, modification or withdrawal of such order. Appeals may be taken from the ruling of the circuit court in the manner provided for other appeals.

In addition to any other remedy, the director may, for persistent, continued or imminent violations of this chapter, apply for a permanent injunction.

The department may be represented by its general counsel or other attorneys, district attorneys or the Attorney General.

Any unlawful act for which no other penalty is provided in this chapter shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $10.00 and not more than $500.00 or by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

No person shall be appointed mine inspector, head mine inspector or Chief of the Division of Safety and Inspection who, or the spouse of whom, has any pecuniary interest in any coal mine in Alabama.

(a) Welders and helpers shall use proper shields or goggles to protect their eyes.

(b) Employees engaged in haulage operations and other persons employed around moving equipment on the surface and underground shall wear snug-fitting clothing.

(c) Protective gloves shall be worn when material which may injure the hands is handled, but gloves with gauntleted cuffs shall not be worn around moving equipment.

(d) Men exposed for short periods to gas, dust, fume and mist inhalation hazards shall wear permissible respiratory equipment. When the exposure is for prolonged periods, other measures to protect workmen or to reduce the hazard shall be taken.

Each mine shall have a check-in and check-out system that will provide positive identification upon the person of every individual underground. An accurate record of the men in the mine, which shall consist of a written record, a check board or a time clock record, shall be kept on the surface in a place that will not be affected in the event of an explosion. Said record shall bear a number identical to the identification check carried by the person underground.

(a) New shafts and partitions therein, made after August 12, 1949, shall be fireproof.

(b) Mine openings, where there is danger of fire entering the mine, shall have adequate protection against surface fires or dangerous volumes of smoke entering the mine.

(c) There shall be at least two travelable passageways out of each section of each mine, one of which may be the haulage road.

(d) Escapeways shall be equipped with stairways, ladders or cleated walkways when needed, installed in such manner that men using them in emergencies may do so quickly and without undue hazard. Direction signs shall be posted conspicuously to indicate manways and designated escapeways.

(a) The Chief of the Division of Safety and Inspection shall:

(1) Be a qualified elector;

(2) Have had 12 or more years' experience in the working, ventilating and drainage of coal mines in this state or eight years of such experience plus four years' experience as a state or federal coal mine inspector;

(3) Have a practical scientific knowledge of all noxious and dangerous gases found in such mines;

(4) Have a mine foreman certificate of competency of the State of Alabama; and

(5) Be not less than 30 years of age.

(b) The chief shall be stationed in a city or town as near the center of the mining industry as is practical.

(a) Each mine inspector and head mine inspector shall:

(1) Be a qualified elector;

(2) Possess a mine foreman certificate of competency of the State of Alabama;

(3) Have had eight or more years' practical experience in coal mines; and

(4) Be not less than 28 years of age.

(b) The mine inspectors shall reside at points convenient to their respective districts.

(a) Each mine shall have an adequate supply of first aid equipment to be used only in case of injury to employees or on the job sickness. These supplies shall be located at points on the surface, at the bottom of main shafts and main slopes, if over 1,000 feet from the surface, and at other suitable locations convenient to each working section. One stretcher and one broken-back board (or a splint-stretcher combination), 24 triangular bandages (or 15, if a splint-stretcher combination is used), eight four-inch bandage compresses, 12 one-inch adhesive compresses, an adequate approved burn remedy, two cloth blankets, one rubber blanket or equivalent substitute, two tourniquets, one one-ounce bottle of aromatic spirits of ammonia or one dozen ammonia ampules and necessary complements of arm and leg splints or two each inflatable plastic arm and leg splints shall be kept at each location designated and shall be accessible to the miners.

(b) No person shall tamper with or remove any first aid supplies other than for use in caring for injured persons and those who become sick while in the mine.

(c) When an injury occurs, prompt first aid shall be given, and, if immediate medical attention is indicated, a doctor shall be notified and the injured person brought to the surface without delay other than the time needed for rendering first aid. Any person injured sufficiently to deprive him of complete control of his faculties or limbs will be adequately attended by designated persons until he is brought to the surface and turned over to a doctor.

(d) Each employee shall promptly notify his supervisor of all injuries.

(a) Each operator shall report promptly to the chief of the division the occurrence at any mine of any fatal accident or accident involving serious personal injury to any person or persons, whether employed or not. The scene of the accident shall not be disturbed pending an investigation except to prevent suspension of use of a slope, entry or facility vital to the operation of a section of a mine. In cases where reasonable doubt exists as to whether to leave the scene unchanged, the operator shall secure prior approval from the chief before any changes are made.

(b) The chief shall go personally or dispatch one or more mine inspectors to the scene of the accident or accidents, investigate causes and issue such orders as may be needed to insure safety of other persons.

(c) Representatives of the operator shall render such assistance as may be needed and shall act in a consulting capacity at the investigation. An employee designated by the employees of the mine shall be notified and as many as three employees designated as representatives of the employees may be present at the investigation in a consulting capacity.

(d) The division shall render a complete report of circumstances and causes of each accident investigated and shall make recommendations for prevention of similar accidents. The division shall furnish one copy of the report to the operator and one copy to the employee representative when he has been present at the investigation. The chief of the division shall maintain a complete file of all accident reports and may give such further publicity as ordered by the director in an effort to prevent coal mine accidents.

In any coal mine or coal mines or parts thereof wherein water may have been allowed to accumulate in large and dangerous quantities, putting in danger the adjoining or adjacent coal mines and the lives of the miners working therein, and when such can be tapped and set free and flow by its own gravity to any point of drainage, any operator or person having a mine so endangered, with the approval of the department, may proceed and remove the said danger by driving a drift or drifts protected by bore holes as provided by this chapter, and, in removing said danger, it shall be lawful to drive across property lines if needful. All coal removed in such driving from adjacent lands shall be paid for on the basis of $.25 per ton of 2,000 pounds. No person shall dam or in any way obstruct the flow of water from said mine or parts thereof when so set on any part of its passage to point of drainage.

(a) If a disaster occurs in a mine, the chief of the division and the nearest office of the United States Bureau of Mines shall be notified by the quickest available means. All facilities of the mine shall be made available for rescue and recovery operations.

(b) No work other than rescue and recovery work may be attempted or started until and unless authorized by the chief of the division or his designated representatives.

(c) After a disaster, operations may not be resumed until authorized by the chief of the division.

(d) If an explosion occurs in a mine, the fan shall not be reversed except by authority of the official in charge of disaster work and then only after a study of the effect of reversing the fan on survivors who are still underground.

(e) The chief of the division shall make available all the facilities at his disposal in effecting rescue and recovery work, and shall act as a consultant or take personal charge where, in his opinion, the circumstances warrant or where the managerial official's status is either incompetent or inadequate.

(f) The orders of the official in charge of disaster work shall be respected and obeyed by all persons engaged in rescue and recovery work.

(g) The chief of the division shall maintain an up-to-date disaster plan for prompt and adequate employment at any coal mine in the state. All employees of the division shall be kept fully informed and trained in their respective duties in making the disaster plan work effectively. The division's plan shall be published annually and furnished to all operators of coal mines and to representatives of the employees. Changes in the plan shall be published promptly when made and furnished to all operators of coal mines and to representatives of the employees.

The Chief of the Division of Safety and Inspection of the Department of Industrial Relations shall establish and maintain within the State of Alabama and within said division such mine rescue stations as he may determine necessary to carry out rescue and recovery operations of mine disasters and to comply with federal requirements. The mine rescue stations shall be located as near the center of the mining industry as is practical. The station shall have sufficient room to handle equipment and personnel for at least two teams.

Said chief is hereby authorized to have trained and employed at the rescue stations operated by said division within the state, rescue crews as he may determine necessary. Each member of such crews shall devote at least four hours each month, or eight hours bimonthly, for training purposes and shall be available at all times to assist in rescue work. Regular crew members shall receive for such services the highest prevailing hourly wage rate in the industry and shall receive the same per diem and expenses as provided to state employees. Workers' compensation benefits as prescribed by Alabama workers' compensation laws shall be provided for all employees engaged in carrying out the mandates of this section and coal mining laws of the State of Alabama. Sufficient funds shall be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this section, Section 25-9-64 and Sections 25-9-66 through 25-9-70.

It shall be the duty and responsibility of the chief to see that all crews be properly trained by qualified instructors who have a certificate of training from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The chief may remove any crew member at any time.

Members of said crews shall have one year underground experience, be less than 50 years of age and pass a physical examination by a licensed physician annually. A record that such examination was taken shall be kept on file by the operator who employs the crew members and a copy shall be furnished to the chief.

All rescue or recovery work performed by these crews shall be under the jurisdiction of the chief. The division shall consult with company officials, representatives of the Mine Safety and Health Administration and representatives of the miners, and all should be in agreement as far as possible on the proper procedure for rescue and recovery. In all instances, procedures shall be guided by the mine rescue apparatus and auxiliary equipment manuals.

When engaged in rescue or recovery work during an emergency at a mine, all crew members assigned to the work shall be considered during the period of their work, employees of the mine where the emergency exists and shall be compensated by the operator at the rate established in the area for such work. In no event shall this rate be less than the prevailing wage rate in the industry for the most skilled class of inside mine labor. During the period of their emergency employment, all crew members shall be protected by the workers' compensation benefits of such emergency employer.

The duties of mine inspectors are to make examinations of mines to see that all the requirements of this chapter are strictly observed and carried out. They shall examine the equipment, works and machinery connected with said mines; examine into the state of coal mines as to transportation, ventilation, circulation and conditions of air, electricity, explosives, timbering, drainage, practices and general security and perform such other duties as are required by the director. At the commencement of any inspection of a coal mine as provided herein, the authorized representative of the miners at the mine at the time of such inspection shall be given an opportunity to accompany the mine inspectors on any such inspection. The mine inspectors shall make a record of all examinations of coal mines, showing the date when made, the condition in which the coal mines are found, the extent to which the laws relating to coal mines and mining are observed or violated, the progress made in the improvements and security of life and health sought to be secured by the provisions of this chapter, the number of accidents, injuries received or deaths in or about the coal mines, the number of persons employed in or by each coal mine, together with all such other facts and information of public interest concerning the condition of coal mines, development and progress of coal mining in this state as they may think useful and proper, and so much thereof as may be of public interest to be included in their reports. A comprehensive report of each inspection of each coal mine shall promptly be made by the chief to the operator, superintendent and mine foreman of said coal mine, and said report shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the mine. This report shall be on a form provided for that purpose and compiled by the said chief. The form may be changed by the chief from time to time, as may seem desirable.

(a) During recovery work and prior to entering any mine, all recovery crews shall be properly informed of existing conditions.

(b) Mine rescue and recovery work shall be carried out under provisions of the applicable federal regulations.

(c) The chief may assign rescue and recovery work to inspectors, instructors or other qualified employees of said division as the chief may determine desirable.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person shall act as fire boss in any coal mine in this state unless he is in possession of a certificate of competency.

(b) No person shall be employed as mine foreman in any coal mine in this state unless he is in possession of a certificate of competency as provided for in this article.

(a) All main fans shall be installed on the surface, in fireproof housings, the fan situated not less than 30 feet from its air shaft or air course and on one side of the line of such opening so that the fan will not be in direct line of the force of a blast or explosion. The air duct connecting the fan with the mine opening shall be fireproof and provided with self-closing explosion doors.

(b) In mines ventilated with multiple fans, each main fan shall be equipped with fireproof doors automatically closing in the event of a fan failure to prevent air reversal through the fan.

(c) Every main fan installed after August 12, 1949, ventilating a mine classed as gassy, must have an auxiliary drive mechanism that will operate the fan at not less than 80 percent of its regular volume. Dual fan installations, independently powered so that one is operative at 80 percent of regular volume during electrical failures, meet this requirement.

(d) All main fans are required to be provided with a pressure-recording gauge, or water gauge, and, unless attended constantly, an automatic device to give alarm when the fan slows down or stops. This device shall be placed so that its alarm will be seen or heard by a responsible person.

(e) Each main fan ventilating all or part of a mine shall be on a separate power circuit, independent of the underground circuit.

(f) Main fan installations shall be protected from wood fire, grass fire and rubbish fire for at least 100 feet in all directions from the fan installations, where physical conditions permit.

(g) The main fan shall be inspected daily and a record kept of the inspection. This inspection may be made by any competent person so designated.

(h) In mines, when the main fan fails or stops, immediate action shall be taken to cut off power from the mine or the area of the mine ventilated by that main fan, and the men shall be withdrawn from the face regions. If ventilation is restored in a reasonable time, the face regions and other places where methane is likely to accumulate shall be reexamined by certified persons, and, if found to be free from explosive gas, power may be restored and work resumed. If the interruption continues for an indefinite or extended period, all underground employees shall be required to leave the mine or the part of the mine ventilated by the main fan that is out of operation. Mines ventilated by more than one main fan shall be considered as having only one fan in the application of this section unless all returns to the fans are entirely separated and escapeways to the surface are available from the areas ventilated by other fans without necessity for any person passing through any area not properly ventilated.

(i) Main fans ventilating mines shall be operated continuously, except when the mine is shut down with all power underground cut off and with all men out of the mine. When the fan is started again, the mine shall be examined for gas and other hazards by certified persons and declared safe before underground power may be restored and men other than the examiners permitted to enter the mine.

(a) Methane detectors used for examining in coal mines shall be permissible. When not in use, they shall be in the care of certified officials or other competent designated persons, who shall examine, clean and deliver them in a safe condition to their users before they enter the mine.

(b) Permissible methane detectors shall be entrusted for use only to certified persons or to approved competent persons who have been accredited as users of methane detectors.

(c) An individual knowing his methane detector to be injured or defective shall immediately report its condition to his supervisor, mine foreman or to the designated attendant.

(a) Air in which men work or travel must promptly be improved if it contains less than 19.5 percent oxygen, more than one percent carbon dioxide or is contaminated with noxious or poisonous gases.

(b) If the air immediately returning from a split that ventilates any active workings contains more than one percent methane or more, the ventilation shall be improved, and, if it contains 1.5 percent or more of methane, the power shall be cut off from the portion of the mine affected, and the employees shall be required to withdraw until ventilation is improved.

(c) Face work must be stopped, power to face equipment cut off and the employees ordered and required to withdraw until ventilation is improved, whenever one percent or more of methane can be detected on an approved type methane detector or whenever gas can be detected on a permissible flame safety lamp at any point not less than 12 inches from the roof, face or rib. This does not apply to other faces in the entry or slope in which work can be safely continued.

(d) When entries or faces are stopped on account of gas for ventilation to be improved, only employees designated to work on improving the ventilation under competent direction may be permitted in the affected area. Power shall not be restored until ventilation is improved.

Sufficient air must be circulated and conducted through all entries, slopes, travelways, working places, air courses and open abandoned areas to dilute, render harmless and carry off noxious and explosive gases emitted in the mine, including smoke from blasting, and shall be not less than 150 cubic feet per man per minute. If mules or horses are used in a mine, 500 cubic feet per animal per minute must be provided in addition to the minimum volume specified for men.

(a) Two available openings to the surface are required from each seam or stratum of coal worked. In drift or slope mines, such openings provided after August 12, 1949, must be separated by not less than 40 feet of natural strata, and all crosscuts between them shall be closed with stoppings of fireproof material. In shaft mines, such openings provided after August 12, 1949, must be separated by not less than 200 feet of natural strata. The second opening may be made through an adjoining mine. Until these provisions are met, not over five men in a drift, 10 men in a slope and 20 men in a shaft shall work in the mine at one time, and no additional development shall be permitted until the connection is made to the second opening. In mines wherein final pillar robbing operations necessitate closing the second opening, the above limitations as to the number of men permitted to work will apply until the mine is worked out and abandoned.

(b) Both openings shall be kept in good condition and shall at all times be reasonably safe and convenient for entering and leaving the mine. At all points where the passageway to the escapeway or escapement shaft is intercepted by roadways, entries or other passageways, conspicuous signboards shall be placed indicating the direction to the place of exit.

(c) Not more than 80 persons may be assigned or permitted to work on any split of air.

(d) Stations or rooms containing electrical transformers, rectifiers, motor generator sets, battery chargers, permanent pumps or air compressors, control rooms and such other stationary and semipermanent equipment as would endanger lives of employees in event of equipment fire shall be ventilated by a separate split of air, returning directly to the surface.

(e) Changes in ventilation that may affect the safety of the men shall be made when the mine is idle. Only those men and supervisors engaged in major ventilation changes will be permitted in the mine during the change.

(f) In mines, the doors, other than man doors, used for deflecting and conducting the ventilation shall be installed in pairs in a manner approved by the division. They shall be so spaced as to prevent interruption to the regular coursing of air, and they shall be hung and maintained so that they will be self-closing by gravity or by effective mechanical means. An emergency door, to be used in case of damage to a regular door, shall be provided at all points where doors are in use.

(g) Mine doors in use must not be propped or latched open or by any other means used to be prevented from being self-closing.

(h) Proper breaks-through shall be made in all pillars as necessary to meet ventilation requirements at the working faces. The maximum distance between breaks-through shall be 105 feet and closer when required by the chief of the division. Permission to exceed 105 feet between breaks-through may be granted by the chief of the division only in exceptional conditions and must be in writing. Requests for permission must be initiated by the operator and recommended by the mine inspector.

(i) On entries, stoppings in crosscuts between intakes and returns shall be built solidly, substantially and of incombustible material.

(j) Dead ending of rooms, slopes or entries in mines classed as gassy is prohibited unless it is manifestly impracticable to drive crosscuts at or close to faces.

(k) Workings shall not be turned off slopes or entries in by the last crosscut; except, that the places may be necked during development of slopes and entries and when good mining practice justifies the practice in order to establish a main airway.

(l) Line brattice and ventilation tubing used to conduct air to the faces of working places shall be substantially erected and shall be of flame-resistant materials.

(m) In the event that diffuser or auxiliary fans and tubing are used in lieu of or in conjunction with a line brattice system to provide ventilation of the working face:

(1) The fan shall be of a permissible type, maintained in permissible condition, so located and operated to avoid any recirculation of air at any time and inspected frequently by a certified person when in use.

(2) In places where auxiliary fans are used, accumulations of methane resulting from unscheduled stoppage of the main fan shall be removed after restoration of normal mine ventilation by conducting air current into the place with line brattice or equivalent. Auxiliary fans shall not be operated in such place during stoppage of normal mine ventilation and until methane accumulations have been removed.

(3) If the auxiliary fan is stopped or fails and the ventilation of the working face is inadequate, the electric equipment in the place shall be stopped and the power disconnected at the power source until adequate ventilation is restored. During such stoppage the ventilation shall be by means of the primary air current conducted into the place in a manner to prevent an accumulation of methane.

(4) In places where auxiliary fans are used, the ventilation during scheduled idle periods such as weekends and idle shifts shall be by means of the primary air current conducted into the place in a manner to prevent accumulation of methane.

(5) If the air passing through the auxiliary fan or tubing contains one percent or more of methane, the provisions of subsection (b) of Section 25-9-82 shall be applied.

(6) To insure that an adequate volume and velocity of air are supplied continuously to the working face where auxiliary fan and tubing are used for face ventilation, a line brattice or other approved device shall be installed before the auxiliary fan is stopped.

(7) All face ventilation systems using auxiliary fans and tubing or machine-mounted diffusers approved by the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration shall be filed with the chief of the division.

(8) Any variance in the above diffuser and auxiliary fan and tubing use must be approved in writing by the chief of the division.

(n) Overcasts shall be constructed tightly of incombustible materials and of sufficient strength to withstand falls of roof, or protected against falling roof, and shall be of ample area to pass the required volume of air.

(a) Abandoned workings that cannot be ventilated adequately with safety to employees must be sealed. The chief of the division will prescribe rules for sealing and periodic testing of air and water behind seals. Failure to comply with rules for sealing and periodic testing will be a violation of this section.

(b) Abandoned workings shall be posted to warn persons against entering, and all accessible abandoned workings shall be examined semimonthly or more often if necessary. When posting is inadequate to warn persons against entering, abandoned workings shall be properly fenced off at all such entrances.

(a) Operators of mines are required to employ one or more certified fire bosses and to have a preshift examination made. The duties of the fire boss are to examine for dangerous conditions all manways, slopes and entries used by men in traveling to and from work and to examine for gas and other dangerous conditions all working places, adjoining abandoned places and accessible pillar falls for accumulation of gas. The fire boss will ascertain that the air is traveling in its proper course and that all ventilation appliances are in good condition and working effectively. The fire boss will indicate his examination of working and abandoned places, pillar falls and ventilating appliances by marking his initial and the date conspicuously in or on such places.

(b) Whenever gas is detected or danger exists to men entering any place, the fire boss shall leave at each entrance to the place a conspicuous DANGER sign.

(c) Examination of the first working place in mines shall take place not more than three hours before the men are permitted to enter the mine or to pass a designated station underground.

(d) The fire boss shall meet the oncoming shift at the point or station designated and inform each man as to the condition of his working place or the place in which his machine is parked. Each face boss and direct supervisor shall be informed by the fire boss as to the condition of all places under his direction or control. When man trip schedules or other compelling factors make it impractical for the fire boss to check each man, the fire boss will furnish to responsible supervisors written signed reports of his inspection and these supervisors will be responsible for informing each man as to the condition of his working place.

(e) In multiple shift operations, certified supervisors may be used to make the fire boss examination for the next or succeeding shift. Responsible supervisors of the next or succeeding shift may be used to inform each man as to the condition of his working place and may be held responsible, provided the certified supervisors who made the examination furnish a written, signed report as to condition of each working place.

(f) The fire boss shall record the results of his inspection in ink or indelible pencil in a book kept on the surface for that purpose. Similar records may be kept at designated stations or offices underground. This book shall be countersigned daily by the mine foreman. The mine superintendent or his assistant shall also read and countersign the reports.

(g) Idle and abandoned parts of any mine shall be examined by a certified person immediately before employees are permitted to enter or work in such areas.

(h) Examination for gas and other dangerous conditions shall be made by a certified official or approved competent person before taking loading or cutting machines in by the open breakthrough nearest the face or before applying power to machinery that remains at or near the face at not more than 20-minute intervals during cutting, drilling or mechanical loading, before drilling with electric drills, before blasting, after blasting and before other work is resumed and at such other times as may be necessary or designated by the operator or mine inspector for adequate safety.

(i) All persons underground shall use only permissible electric cap lamps for portable illumination that is worn on the person. This does not preclude the use of other types of permissible electric lamps, permissible flashlights, permissible safety lamps or any other portable illumination classed as permissible.

(j) Open cap lights and smoking and smokers' articles, including matches, are prohibited in underground mines.

(a) All flame safety lamps used for examining coal mines or for working therein shall be permissible. When not in use, they shall be in the care of certified officials or other competent designated persons who shall disassemble, examine, clean, fill and deliver them, locked and in safe condition, to their users before they enter the mine. Flame safety lamps shall not be unlocked or disassembled inside any coal mine.

(b) At least two permissible flame safety lamps shall be kept in serviceable condition at each coal mine. Not less than 25 percent of those in use or one, whichever is greater, shall be kept in reserve at each mine for use in emergency.

(c) Permissible flame safety lamps shall be entrusted for use only to certified persons or to approved competent persons who have been accredited as users of flame safety lamps as required in this chapter.

(d) Every person who knows his flame safety lamp to be injured or defective shall immediately extinguish it and promptly report its condition to his supervisor, the mine foreman or to the designated lamp attendant. Defective lamps must be kept separate from others until repaired.

(a) The operator of each coal mine shall send to the division a report monthly, or more often if necessary, showing the amount of ventilation and methane content at the inlet and outlet, the amount of ventilation and the methane content of return air at or near the last crosscut in each working entry, the number of splits and the number of men and animals on each split and the places gas has been detected in old workings. The report shall include a record of the pressure gauge readings at the fan.

(b) A prompt report, by the quickest available means, must be made by the operator to the division upon detection of any dangerous accumulation of methane in any coal mine, whether accompanied by explosion or not. This report shall state precautions taken to safeguard employees and action taken or planned to remove the dangerous accumulation. The division shall issue such supplementary orders as may be indicated and dispatch one or more inspectors promptly to the mine if the circumstances warrant.

(c) A report shall be made by the operator to the division prior to opening any new or reopening any abandoned coal mine or abandoning any coal mine.

(d) A report shall be made by the operator to the division when the workings of any coal mine are approaching an abandoned coal mine, shaft or other underground passages that are known to contain or may contain dangerous accumulations of water or gas.

(e) A report shall be made by the operator to the division upon the accidental closing or prior to the intended abandonment or closing of any passageway to an escapement outlet.

(f) A report shall be made by the operator to the division before breaking through any opening into a coal mine whether from or to the surface or through other mine shafts or other passages.

When workings are being driven toward any worked out and inaccessible or abandoned area or a shaft, that may contain accumulations of gases or water and cannot be inspected, they shall be narrowed to eight feet or less in width. Persons driving these workings shall constantly keep one bore hole near the center of the working and 20 feet in advance and one bore hole 15 feet deep in each rib at a 45 degree angle and at intervals of six feet as the face is advanced. These test holes shall not be used for blasting. Separate blasting holes, not over four feet deep, must be drilled. These precautions must begin at least 100 feet from the probable source of danger.

There shall be appointed by the Governor a board of examiners, all of whom shall hold Alabama mine foreman's certificates, consisting of the chief or the head mine inspector, as the director may designate, together with three active practical miners, three operators of coal mines and one practicing mining engineer. The members of this board shall be appointed by the Governor and shall hold office for three years and until their successors are appointed and qualified, and, as nearly as possible, two members shall be appointed one year and three the succeeding year. No member of the board shall serve more than two consecutive terms of office. The chief or the head mine inspector shall be ex officio chairman of the board. The chairman shall vote only in the case of a tie vote, and, in the absence of one member of the board, a majority of whom shall act. In the event of the failure to have a quorum, the chairman shall have the authority to select a qualified person or persons. There shall be paid to each member of the board, except the ex officio chairman, who shall serve without extra pay, $10.00 per day. Each board member shall also be entitled to the same per diem and travel allowance as is provided by law for state employees for each day's attendance at meetings of the board. Said board of examiners shall meet every six months at the office of the chief and shall remain in session not longer than eight days, and special meetings may be called by the chairman or a majority of the members of said board. The department shall preserve in its office a record of the meetings and transactions of the board and all certificates issued and revoked.

Each employee shall promptly inform his supervisor or the mine foreman of damage to or unsafe condition of any ventilation appliance when known by the employee or of any obstruction in air passages or other interference with normal ventilation of which he has knowledge. The supervisor or mine foreman who knows of or to whom such damage or unsafe condition is reported is responsible for prompt correction.

It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to enter, without an order from an authoritative official, or go dangerously near any mine or part of a mine of which he has been warned personally or by danger board of the presence of gas in dangerous quantities, or knowingly to destroy, damage or lessen the effectiveness of any ventilation appliance or facility, or to open a ventilating door that is in use without promptly closing the same, or to do any willful act knowing that the consequence of his act might result in accumulation or ignition of gas.