Ohio Revised Code Search

...At any mine where there is a stream or body of water on the surface, or in the workings of the mine, at a higher level, which is likely to break through into such mine, and inundate either the traveling or escapement way of such mine, so as to prevent the egress of persons employed therein, the operator shall provide and maintain and additional opening by means of which such persons may escape without using the trave...

...In the development of mines, doors shall be eliminated wherever practicable. All main or principal air currents shall be controlled by double doors to form an air lock, said doors to be self-closing and to be a sufficient distance apart to accommodate any trip that may be handled through them, thus having one door closed at all times. At all points where double doors are impracticable and single doors are used, there...

...From a point where the seam is reached in the opening of an underground mine, to a point not exceeding a distance of four hundred feet therefrom, break-throughs shall be made between mine entries, where there are no rooms worked, not more than one hundred feet apart, provided such entries are not advanced beyond the point where the break-through will be made until the break-through is complete. Break-throughs between...

...The operator of a mine shall provide and maintain, in safe condition for the purpose provided, two separate and distinct traveling ways from the interior workings of the mine, each of which shall be available to at least one opening to the surface. One of such traveling ways may be designated by such operator as the principal traveling way. One of such traveling ways shall be designated as the escapement way, which s...

...The operator of a mine worked by shaft shall provide, and keep free from obstruction, a traveling way or passageway from one side of the shaft bottom to the other. Slopes and mechanical haulageways used as traveling ways by persons employed in a mine shall be made of a sufficient width to give not less than three feet of space between the rib and adjacent side of car or mechanical device to permit persons to pass mo...

...For the protection of transportation workers, track shall be laid to provide a minimum clearance of fourteen inches on the side of the entry opposite the trolley or feed wire at all haulage turnouts and crossovers between butt entries, on gathering passageways, on room entries, and chutes between room entries, except that where brake handles are on the side of mine cars, the clearance shall be provided on the wire si...

...The permanent boilers used for generating steam, and the buildings containing the boilers, shall not be nearer than sixty feet to any mine opening, or to a building or inflammable structure connected with or surrounding such opening. No owner, lessee, agent, or operator of a mine shall violate this section.

...In all mines generating methane in such quantities as to be considered a gaseous mine under section 1563.02 of the Revised Code, the mine foreperson of such a mine shall: (A) Employ a sufficient number of competent persons holding foreperson of gaseous mines or fire boss certificates, except as provided in section 1565.02 of the Revised Code, to examine the working places whether they are in actual course of ...

...Coal dust, loose coal, and other combustible materials shall not be permitted to accumulate in any active workings. Where mining operations raise an excessive amount of dust into the air, water or water with a wetting agent added to it, or other effective methods, shall be used to allay such dust at its source. No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.

...All mines, except those mines or locations in a mine that are too wet or too high in incombustible content to propagate an explosion, shall be rock dusted. The rock dusting shall be done with such regularity and frequency that all surfaces required to be rock dusted shall be kept in such condition that the incombustible content of the adhering and lodging dust is not less than sixty-five per cent. When methane is pre...

...The mine foreman shall examine or have examined the working place of each person working in the mine on each coal-producing shift that such person is working in such working place or more often when the circumstances so require. In case the mine foreman should delegate such duty of inspecting working places, when men are at the faces, the person to whom he delegates such authority shall be certified. As evidence of...

...The worker performing the duties of fire boss shall, in an approved manner, use a flame safety lamp when making examinations under this chapter and Chapters 1561., 1565., and 1567. and applicable provisions of Chapter 1509. of the Revised Code. As evidence of such examinations the fire boss shall mark with chalk, upon the face of the coal or in some other conspicuous place, the fire boss's initials and the date...

...Each miner shall examine his working place upon entering it, and shall not commence to mine or load until it is made safe. He shall be very careful to keep his working place in a safe condition.

...When a working place becomes unsafe, the mine foreman shall order the persons working therein to cease mining or loading, and not remain in such working place, until it is safe, except as is necessary to make it safe. No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.

...If a miner finds his place becoming dangerous, he shall at once cease work and notify the mine foreman, or other person acting for the mine foreman, of such danger and, upon leaving such place, he shall place some plain warning at the entrance thereto to warn others from entering into the danger. Such miner shall not return until ordered to do so by the mine foreman. No person shall refuse or neglect to comply wit...

...The mine foreman shall see that all dangerous places and old workings are properly fenced off, and proper dangersignal boards are hung on such fencing so that they may be plainly seen. He shall also travel all airways, and examine all the accessible openings to old workings as often as is necessary to insure their safety. All signs placed by the mine foreman under this section shall be marked "danger." No person sh...

...Each operator shall carry out on a continuing basis a program to improve the roof control system of each coal mine and the means and measures to accomplish such system. The roof and ribs of all active underground roadways, travelways, and working places shall be supported or otherwise controlled adequately to protect persons from falls of the roof or ribs. A roof control plan and revisions thereof suitable to the roo...

...Each operator shall adopt an adequate program for improving roof control systems. This program shall include a roof control plan, provision for the training of miners, a history of all unintentional roof falls, and systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of the roof control system in use. Each operator shall adopt a roof control plan suitable to the roof conditions and the mining system for all underground roadway...

...The chief of the division of mineral resources management shall approve roof control plans on a mine-by-mine basis in accordance with the criteria or specifications set forth in this section. Additional measures may be required. Roof control plans that do not conform to these criteria or specifications may be approved if the operator satisfies the chief that the resultant roof conditions will provide no less protecti...

...The method of mining followed in any coal mine shall not expose the miner to unusual dangers from roof falls caused by excessive widths of rooms and entries or faulty pillar recovery methods. (A) The method of mining shall provide widths of openings and pillar dimensions compatible with effective roof control. These widths and dimensions shall be incorporated into the roof control plan submitted for approval. Where...

...(A) The operator, in accordance with the approved plan, shall provide at or near each working face and at such other locations in the coal mines as the chief of the division of mineral resources management may prescribe an ample supply of suitable materials of proper size with which to secure the roof of all working places in a safe manner. Safety posts, jacks, or other approved devices shall be used to protect the w...

...When any working place approaches within fifty feet of accurately surveyed completed workings in the same mine, or within two hundred feet of any other abandoned workings, that cannot be inspected and which may contain dangerous accumulations of water or gas, boreholes shall be drilled at least twenty feet in advance of the face, and forty-five degree angle rib holes shall be drilled at least twenty feet deep and not...

...The operator shall effectively close or fence all openings to mines abandoned after June 3, 1941, so that persons or animals cannot inadvertently enter therein. Abandoned vertical shafts and other abandoned openings leading to underground workings, which shafts and other openings are abandoned after August 26, 1949, shall be closed within ninety days after abandonment as follows: (A) Vertical shafts shall be comple...

...The operator of a mine, before sealing off any abandoned workings, shall obtain the approval of the deputy mine inspector and the chief of the division of mineral resources management. The seals used in sealing off such workings, when approved by the chief, shall be constructed of not less than eighteen-inch concrete or masonry bulkheads effectively anchored to the ceiling, ribs, and floor, except where seals are use...

...The operator of a mine, before the pillars are drawn previous to the abandonment of any part of the mine, shall have a correct map of such part of the mine made, showing its area and workings to the day of the abandonment and the pillars drawn previous to abandonment, and file such map within ninety days after the abandonment of such mine, in the office of the county recorder of the county where such mine is located,...