A Louisiana salt mine operated by Morton Salt Inc. has been issued a U.S. Department of Labor pattern of violations notice for allegedly failing to comply with mandatory federal health and safety standards.
Weeks Island Mine and Mill in New Iberia received 82 significant and substantial violations of the Mine Safety and Health Act from Sept. 1, 2021, to Aug. 31 with 32 of those relating to Morton Salt’s high negligence or reckless disregard, a recent Labor Department news release said.
“Congress put the pattern of violations authority in the Mine Act for a reason,” assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Christopher Williamson said in the release. “Our action shows that we will use that authority and other tough enforcement measures to protect the safety and health of our nation’s miners. The Mine Act is also clear that mine operators have the ultimate responsibility to keep miners safe and healthy.”
The release states this is the first POV notice for continuous serious health and safety violations that a mine operator has received since 2014.
Mine operators have access to MSHA online calculators that help them track violations and alert them to make corrective actions.
“Using our online tools, operators can easily monitor their performance under the screening criteria and take proactive measures to improve compliance and protect miners’ safety and health,” Williamson said in the release.
