A. Any hazardous condition found by the mine foreman or another certified person designated by the operator for the purpose of conducting examinations under this article shall be (i) corrected immediately or (ii) posted with conspicuous danger signs until the condition is corrected. If the hazardous condition creates an imminent danger, all persons except those required to perform work to correct the imminent danger shall be withdrawn from the affected area. The hazardous condition and the corrective actions taken shall be recorded in a book maintained for such purpose on the surface at the mine. The record shall be made by the completion of the shift on which the hazardous condition is found.
B. Upon completing the pre-shift examination, the mine foreman shall return to the surface or a designated station underground and report in person to an authorized person before any other miner enters the mine. Immediately upon reaching the surface, the mine foreman shall record in ink or indelible pencil the result of his inspection in a book maintained for such purpose on the surface at the mine.
C. At the completion of any shift during which a portion of a weekly examination is made, a record of each hazardous condition, its location, the corrective action taken, and the result and location of each air and methane measurement shall be made. Such record shall be made by the mine foreman making the examination or another certified person designated by the operator. If the record is made by a person other than the one making the examination, the person making the examination shall verify the record by initials and date.
D. The actual level of methane detected in any examination shall be recorded in the book.
E. A mine foreman or other certified person conducting a required examination shall record the results of his examination in ink or indelible pencil in a book maintained for such purpose on the surface at the mine. Similar records may be kept at designated stations or offices underground.
F. Records shall be countersigned by the supervisor of the examiner creating the records. Where such records disclose a hazardous condition, the countersigning of the records shall be performed no later than the end of the next regularly scheduled working shift following the shift for which the examination records were completed, and the person countersigning shall ensure that actions to eliminate or control each hazardous condition have been taken. Where such records disclose no hazardous condition, the countersigning may be completed within 24 hours following the end of the shift for which the examination records were completed. The operator may authorize another person who possesses authority equivalent to that of the supervisor to act in the supervisor's temporary absence to read and countersign the records and ensure that action is taken to eliminate each hazardous condition disclosed in the records.
G. All records of examination shall be open for inspection by interested persons 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, § 45.1-161.212; 2005, c. 3; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.