Mine Safety and Health Administration MSHA

Mining disasters killed thousands of workers in the early twentieth century, and the federal Bureau of Mines was created in 1910 to study them, though it had little enforcement power. After the 1968 Farmington explosion in West Virginia killed 78 miners, Congress passed the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, signed on November 9, 1977, moved enforcement from the Interior Department to the new Mine Safety and Health Administration in Labor, led by an Assistant Secretary.

Unlike most workplace safety agencies, MSHA must by law inspect every underground mine at least four times a year and every surface mine at least twice, covering coal, metal, and nonmetal operations such as quarries and sand and gravel pits. Inspectors can issue citations and close dangerous sections of a mine on the spot. The agency also sets standards for ventilation, roof support, dust, and rescue, and its penalties can be appealed to the independent Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.

Mining deaths have fallen sharply over the decades, but disasters such as the Upper Big Branch explosion of April 5, 2010, which killed 29 miners, have prompted new rules. Black lung disease has returned at high rates among Appalachian coal miners, linked to silica dust from cutting rock. A 2024 rule lowering the silica exposure limit had its enforcement delayed in 2025, when the agency also planned to close some field offices. Industry groups said the delays allowed time to comply, while miners' advocates warned that every postponement means more lung disease.