45.1-161.212 - Record of examinations.
§ 45.1-161.212. Record of examinations.
A. Any hazardous condition found by the mine foreman or other certifiedpersons designated by the operator for the purposes of conductingexaminations under Article 14 (§ 45.1-161.208 et seq.) of this chapter shallbe corrected immediately, or the affected area shall be dangered off untilthe condition is corrected. If the hazardous condition creates an imminentdanger all persons except those required to perform work to correct theimminent danger shall be withdrawn from the affected area. A record of thehazardous condition found and the corrective actions taken shall be made in abook maintained for this purpose on the surface at the mine. The record shallbe made by the completion of the shift on which the hazardous condition isfound.
B. Upon completing the pre-shift examination, the mine foreman shall returnto the surface or a designated station underground and report in person to anauthorized person before other miners enter the mine. Immediately uponreaching the surface, the mine foreman shall record in ink or indeliblepencil the result of his inspection in a book kept on the surface for thatpurpose.
C. At the completion of any shift during which a portion of a weeklyexamination is made, a record of hazardous conditions, their locations, thecorrective action taken, and the results and location of air and methanemeasurements shall be made. The record shall be made by the person making theexamination or by a person designated by the operator. If the record is madeby a person other than the examiner, the examiner shall verify the record byinitials and date.
D. The actual level of methane detected in any examination shall be recordedin the book.
E. A mine foreman or other certified person conducting a required examinationshall record the results of his examination in ink or indelible pencil in abook kept on the surface for that purpose. Similar records may be kept atdesignated stations or offices underground.
F. Records shall be countersigned by the supervisor of the examiner creatingthe records. Where such records disclose hazardous conditions, thecountersigning of the records shall be performed no later than the end of thenext regularly scheduled working shift following the shift for which theexamination records were completed, and the person countersigning shallensure that actions to eliminate or control the hazardous conditions havebeen taken. Where such records do not disclose hazardous conditions, thecountersigning may be completed within 24 hours following the end of theshift for which the examination records were completed. The operator mayauthorize another person with equivalent authority of the supervisor to actin the supervisor's temporary absence to read and countersign the records andensure that action is taken to eliminate the hazardous conditions disclosedin the records.
G. All records of examination shall be open for inspection by interestedpersons and maintained at the mine site for a minimum of one year.
(Code 1950, §§ 45-32, 45-33, 45-60.4, 45-68.1, 45-69.7; 1954, c. 191; 1966,c. 594, § 45.1-65; 1978, c. 120; 1994, c. 28; 2005, c. 3.)