The U.S. Department of Labor announced the availability of up to $1 million in grant funding through its Brookwood-Sago grant program, which supports the delivery of education and training to the nation’s mining community to help them identify, avoid and prevent unsafe and unhealthy working conditions.
Established by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, the program honors 25 miners who perished in disasters in 2001 at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Ala., and in 2006 in Buckhannon, W.Va., at the Sago mine.
Administered by the department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, the grants will fund education and training programs focused on workplace safety and health hazards faced by miners. These hazards include:
- Exposure to respirable dust and crystalline silica.
- Safe use of powered haulage and mobile equipment.
- Mine emergency and mine rescue preparedness.
- Electrical safety.
- Insufficient training of new and inexperienced miners.
- Lack of training for managers and supervisors performing mining tasks.
- Pillar safety for underground mines.
- Lack of personal protective equipment to prevent falls from heights and other unsafe conditions.
The program aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to improve the safety and working conditions for nation’s miners.
In awarding the grants, MSHA will give special emphasis to education and training programs that target miners at smaller mines and underserved populations in the industry and make diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility priorities.
Learn more or submit a grant application here. The closing date for applications is July 21, 2023. MSHA will award grants on or before Sept. 30, 2023.