Independent Review of MSHA's Actions at Crandall Canyon Mine

MINE RESCUE TEAMS
Coal Mine Safety and Health (CMS&H) maintains three Mine Emergency Unit (MEU) teams:
two in the East and one in the West. The East and West teams have separate trainers. John
Urosek, MSHA’s Mine Emergency Rescue Coordinator, is responsible for all mine rescue
operations for MSHA, including direction of the MEU teams. After MSHA was notified of the
August 6 th accident, Mine Emergency Unit (MEU) team members from both East and West
were assigned to report to Crandall Canyon to assist in the rescue operation.
The team members from the East had to make arrangements for air travel. All but two team
members who responded flew to Utah on August 6 th . The other two, due to problems with the
airline, did not travel until the next day. The Western MEU team members who were assigned
to the Crandall Canyon mine all arrived at various times on August 6 th .
Urosek was scheduled to start his vacation on August 6 th , but began making arrangements for
Crandall Canyon. He talked with Mark Skiles, Director of Technical Support, and Stricklin,
and was instructed to continue with his vacation plans. Urosek stated he was told that this
event “wasn't an explosion dealing with gases, it was more of a bump situation and the
seismic was probably going to be the key group that we would be sending.” Urosek was
available by phone until he arrived at the mine on August 14 th . Jeffery Kravitz, Chief of
Scientific Development for MSHA’s Technical Support, was designated to act in Urosek’s
position until Urosek arrived.
During the rescue operation, there were some issues that arose involving the use of mine
rescue teams. There were also certain accepted mine rescue procedures that were not followed
to ensure safety.
Failure to Establish Written Plans for Rescue Teams Exploration
It is important to have written plans for rescue and recovery work. Plans should be made
available to rescue team members and other rescue workers prior to going underground. The
§ 103(k) order issued for Crandall Canyon stated that “The Mine Operator shall obtain prior
approval for all plans prior to implementation…” Between August 6 th and August 16 th , there
were 18 modifications or plan revisions to the § 103(k) order, including two on August 12 th
that dealt with “apparatus wearers” or rescue team members. However, on August 6 th , rescue
teams were sent into the mine twice without any written plan to follow.
Early on the morning of August 6 th , a rescue team was directed to enter the mine to find access
to the trapped miners through the South Barrier entries. The § 103(k) order was not modified
for this exploration, and no plan of instruction was approved or given to the rescue team.
According to accident investigation team interviews, the captain of the team stated they had
“No specific plan” and “No specific instructions” for this exploration.
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