§ 864. — Combustible materials and rock dusting.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 30USC864]
TITLE 30--MINERAL LANDS AND MINING
CHAPTER 22--MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
SUBCHAPTER III--INTERIM MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS FOR UNDERGROUND COAL
MINES
Sec. 864. Combustible materials and rock dusting
(a) Accumulations; maintenance
Coal dust, including float coal dust deposited on rock-dusted
surfaces, loose coal, and other combustible materials, shall be cleaned
up and not be permitted to accumulate in active workings, or on electric
equipment therein.
(b) Abatement of hazards in active working areas
Where underground mining operations in active workings create or
raise excessive amounts of dust, water or water with a wetting agent
added to it, or other no less effective methods approved by the
Secretary or his authorized representative, shall be used to abate such
dust. In working places, particularly in distances less than forty feet
from the face, water, with or without a wetting agent, or other no less
effective methods approved by the Secretary or his authorized
representative, shall be applied to coal dust on the ribs, roof, and
floor to reduce dispersibility and to minimize the explosion hazard.
(c) Rock dusting of all areas of underground mines; exceptions
All underground areas of a coal mine, except those areas in which
the dust is too wet or too high in incombustible content to propagate an
explosion, shall be rock dusted to within forty feet of all working
faces, unless such areas are inaccessible or unsafe to enter or unless
the Secretary or his authorized representative permits an exception upon
his finding that such exception will not pose a hazard to the miners.
All crosscuts that are less than forty feet from a working face shall
also be rock dusted.
(d) Distribution of rock dust; places, quantities
Where rock dust is required to be applied, it shall be distributed
upon the top, floor, and sides of all underground areas of a coal mine
and maintained in such quantities that the incombustible content of the
combined coal dust, rock dust, and other dust shall be not less than 65
per centum, but the incombustible content in the return aircourses shall
be no less than 80 per centum. Where methane is present in any
ventilating current, the per centum of incombustible content of such
combined dusts shall be increased 1.0 and 0.4 per centum for each 0.1
per centum of methane where 65 and 80 per centum, respectively, of
incombustibles are required.
(e) Limitation of applicability
Subsections (b) through (d) of this section shall not apply to
underground anthracite mines.
(Pub. L. 91-173, title III, Sec. 304, Dec. 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 774.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 861 of this title.
