Washington, D.C. (WOAY) – The U.S. Department of Labor awards $985,284 in grants to support mine safety education and training nationwide.
The grant award aligns with the department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) initiative on targeting programs and materials for smaller mines and their employees.
With support from the Brookwood Sago Mine Safety grant program, recipients will create safety instructional guides, conduct educational programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of training sessions.
The program honors 25 miners who died in mine disasters at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001, and at the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 2006.
Recipients of the 2022 Brookwood-Sago grants include West Virginia Research Corp. in Morgantown.
The organization earned $100,657 to provide emergency prevention and preparedness training to coal miners and coal mine operators in mine rescue training.
West Virginia Research Corp will also offer dry chemical fire training to respond to emergencies involving fire in underground coal mines.