[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9986-9987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4342]
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First Aid Training for Selected Supervisors
AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is
voluntarily requesting comments on a draft Program Policy Letter
concerning first aid training for selected supervisors which is
required by 30 CFR 56/57.18010.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 10, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Administrator, Metal and Nonmetal
Mine Safety and Health, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Room 728, Arlington,
Virginia 22203, Fax: 703-235-9173. Commenters are encouraged to send
commends on a computer disk along with their original comments in hard
copy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard H. Judd, Mine Safety and Health Specialist, Metal and Nonmetal
Mine Safety and Health, 703-235-8480.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: MSHA updates its policies for enforcement of
safety and health regulations through Program Policy Letters (PPLs).
These PPLs are Agency interpretations of what existing MSHA regulations
require; they are not new regulations. Therefore, PPLs do not impose
new requirements, but explain or clarify how regulations work or apply
in a particular situation. These PPSs are used by MSHA inspectors,
miners, mine operators, and mining equipment manufacturers as guidance
in determining how best to comply with MSHA regulations. Once adopted,
the policy statements are published in the MSHA program policy manual
and given wide distribution.
To increase public participation on selected draft PPLs, MSHA is
voluntarily requesting comments and suggestions from the public,
especially from people who would be directly affected by the PPLs. By
this notice, MSHA is requesting comments on a draft PPL concerning
first aid training for selected supervisors, as required by 30 CFR 56/
57.18010. These standards were first promulgated as advisory standards
in July 1969 and became [[Page 9987]] mandatory in August 1973. MSHA
will consider all timely submitted comments before taking final action
on the PPL.
Draft Policy
Background
Standard 56/57.18010, First Aid Training, states, ``Selected
supervisors shall be trained in first aid. First aid training shall be
made available to all interested employees.''
The intent of the standard is to provide first aid capability at
each mine so that timely and appropriate treatment may be given in the
event a miner is injured. Questions raised by industry and labor
indicate that compliance and enforcement guidance is needed to clarify
the requirements of the regulation. In a recent five year period, more
than 2,200 violations of the standard have been cited. Many of these
citations were issued under circumstances where no one at the mine site
had been given first aid training. Therefore, MSHA is considering
issuing a PPL on this subject. It is MSHA's policy that a sufficient
number of supervisors must be selected and trained to ensure that a
responsible person is available to administer first aid at the mine
site on all working shifts.
Selected Supervisors To Be Trained
Selected supervisors can include shift bosses, foremen,
superintendents, or other designated individuals in a supervisory
position. In order to provide first aid assistance to sick or injured
employees, trained supervisors should be selected to provide coverage
on each working shift.
Course Content
The word ``trained'' refers to a performance capability. A person
trained in first aid must be able to provide the necessary level of
treatment consistent with accepted first aid practices. The first aid
course for supervisors, therefore, should include, at a minimum, the
following fundamental topics which are consistent with those of
nationally recognized courses: patient assessment, artificial
ventilation, control of bleeding, control of shock, wounds and
dressings, burns and scalds, musculoskeletal injuries, and handling and
transportation.
Accepted Courses
Training courses which include the fundamentals identified above,
and are sponsored or sanctioned by a recognized organization (American
Red Cross, National Safety Council, etc.) meet the requirements of 30
CFR 56/57.18010. First aid training conducted by MSHA-certified
instructors also meets the requirements of the standard, provided that
the topics, as detailed above, are included in the course. 30 CFR Part
48 training requirements address only a limited form of first aid
training for all miners and, therefore, is unacceptable for compliance
with 30 CFR 56/57.18010.
A certificate of course completion provided by the trainer or the
recognized training organization, or a written statement by the mine
operator certifying course completion, will serve as evidence to MSHA
of current training.
Refresher Training
In order for first aid capability to remain effective, it is
necessary for persons who have received the training to maintain an
adequate competency level and, thus, remain ``trained.'' Refresher
training prevents the loss or diminution of competency over a period of
time. When a recognized course is used to comply with the standard,
retraining should be conducted within the recommended frequency and
course content established by the providing organization.
Availability Of Training For Employees
Availability of training for interested employees may be announced
by posting the course schedule on the mine bulletin board, or by
notifying employees through other means. The course should be given at
a location and time convenient to employees.
Dated: February 16, 1995.
J. Davitt McAteer,
Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 95-4342 Filed 2-16-95; 4:31 pm]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-M
