The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that monthly impact inspections of 16 mines in 12 states by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) found 205 violations, including 52 significant and substantial findings.

According to a release by the DOL, the inspections are carried out at mines requiring increased agency attention and enforcement because of poor compliance history, previous accidents, injuries, and illnesses, and other compliance concerns.

“The Mine Safety and Health Administration remains focused on identifying conditions that can lead to serious accidents and put miners at increased risk of developing entirely preventable occupational illnesses,” Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson said in the release. “Impact inspections are an important enforcement tool that we will continue to use to protect miners’ safety and health.”

During the March inspections, MSHA identified several violations at INMET Mining’s D-21 Mine in Cumberland, KY, and cited the mine operator for not following federally approved mine ventilation and roof-control plans and not providing miners with a safe and healthy workplace. The impact inspection found the operator failed to maintain cutting bits on continuous mining machines, did not have enough air behind the curtain at the working face during the mining process, and had inoperable and missing water sprays, the report stated.

MSHA conducted its monthly impact inspections in March at mines in Alabama, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Indiana Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, and West Virginia. In the first three months of 2023, the agency’s inspections identified 579 violations, including 165 significant and substantial and 13 unwarrantable failure findings. A significant and substantial violation is one that is reasonably likely to cause a reasonably serious injury or illness, DOL reported.