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The disheartening report following is from a Production Firm Officer who has long experience with MSHA inspectors and inspections. It is not restricted to 1 M/NM district. This report is being received from Sites across the country. I have removed info which might endanger the Site or the inspector. I remind you that your best tool for surviving this expanding bureaucracy (MSHA) is to know the Law better than they do and zealously protect your Constitutional and Legal rights. _______________________________________________________________________________ " During a recent MSHA inspection the inspector indicated to me some shocking MSHA practices. He talked of conversations at the field office about the number of citations written; indicating that if the number of citations written during an inspection were not thought to be enough by the supervisor, the supervisor or perhaps the supervisor and another inspector would go to the site and conduct a second inspection. They would then proceed to look for any violation possible and even write some citation that was not valid. Inspectors are then expected to explain why they did not find these "violations" during their original inspection. Inspectors speak openly about the attitude and intent of MSHA as an agency. It is no longer to assist with ensuring the safety of the miner but rather to write citations. The inspectors' judgment to cite violations as they see them based on the facts at the time of the inspection has been taken away. The gravity, negligence and S&S or non-S&S status is being decided sometimes by supervisors and others who never saw the condition in the first place. In a recent inspection, the operator was told by an inspector there were no violations present only to return the next day with citations. This is definitely a change from the past where the inspector and the operator could work together to keep the miner safe." Register for May 19-14 Institute
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