re: Roof collapse at Cargill Salt Mine ; Two men dead (identity’s in post)

Bookmarked for later.

I am betting this was a scaling accident. The salt on the roof scales off in big chunks.
They have equipment called roof bolters that drill holes and secure the scales so they do not fall off. After awhile they have equipment that are called scalers that come in and pick the loose scales off the ceiling. They look like boom lifts with hydraulic pick on the end of the boom.
They were probably in the area of loose scale or were working a scaling operation.

Never worked in a mine in Louisiana but I have worked in some in New Mexico and Colorado and the people who work in mines are, in my experience, WAY more interested in MSHA guidelines and requirements than any industry I am familar with are interested in OSHA requirements. OSHS is generally viewed by workers and management alike as un-necessary over reach by the federal government. MSHA is seen by workers as a life saving agency which has made their industry's risk manageable...mining management looks at MSHA the way all other management in all other industries look at OSHA...to burdensome and a barrier to production and profits. It is said MSHA regulations are written in the blood of miners. I worked on a cross walk of OSHA / MSHA regulations for construction projects recently and they are almost identical, the chief difference being who should be notified in the case of the discovery of an unsafe condition and in the case of an incident....other than they are almost verbatim, with the caveat that mines are inspected WAY more regularly.

Working in a mine is akin to spending your entire day at work standing UNDER a loaded crane. Mining is still among the most dangerous occupations on earth, although behind construction work. The difference is that OSHA came along after most industries realized it was bad optics to be killing people in the quest for profits while MSHA came along when mine operators were of the opinion that miners died working in mines and there wasn't much that could be done about it and still make money. Its amazing how much more interested miners are in complying with MSHA regulations than any workers in any industry I have worked in are....and its amazing how many times mine operators are fined serious money compared to OSHA regulated industries....all because the people whose lives are at risk are on board with MSHA while others see OSHA as a barrier.

I haven't been down in that mine myself, but I've heard stories from coworkers about water seeping from the walls on a few of the mine levels. That's scary, especially in a salt mine

prayers for them

had no clue there were mines in LA, how neat.

Interior of the Carey Salt mine, Winnfield, Louisiana, 1940s. This mine later flooded as a result of nuclear testing LINK

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Serious question ...
Why wouldnt the equipment rust in an extremely salty environment, but rapidly degrade when returned to the surface?
I imagine it must be because of moisture/humidity controls that the mines have in place, but don't know that for a fact.

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The lack of moisture down there keeps it from rusting, but it's also why any equipment that goes down in the mine stays down there. The moment it comes back topside it turns into a pile of rust.

There's a salt mine, I believe in Kansas, where all kinds of irreplaceable vital records are stored. Salt is geologically stable and the interiors of salt mines arr naturally climate controlled.

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Not to derail - but that is not accurate at all. A contractor goes to an MSHA site thinking that is going to get fined to hell and back the first time and inspector shows up.

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No doubt, this is exactly what I wrote...MSHA does inspections and does them regularly and without notification...OSHA does not....it would take about 111 years, if memory serves, for current levels of OSHA inspectors to inspect current work places covered by OSHA...MSHA does it 4 times annually for underground mines and twice annually for above ground mines. I have been in the construction Industry in the US for most of my 37 year career....all of the work sites I have been involved with were covered by OSHA or MSHA....I can recall seeing OSHA inspectors on a project twice...I know 4 MSHA inspectors by name and my time spent in the mining industry has been limited to about 48 months total in government ran mines in the nuclear weapons complex and a couple of projects in pit mines in Georgia...MSHA does not show up that many times a year because mine operators want them to....MSHA shows up that many times a year because miners view federal regulations as the only way to do what they do safely....because the opinion of the mine operator is that people die every day, what's a few more here or there.....

Reminds me of the mine collapse a few years ago where the wife and girlfriend both found out the miner was cheating. He tried to stay in the mine.