§951 Studies and Research

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services must run studies, research, experiments, and demonstrations to make mines safer and protect miners’ health. The work covers things like improving working conditions and practices, preventing accidents and diseases, finding better ways to rescue people, improving surface-to-underground communication, lowering breathable dust, studying how mine environments cause illness, finding ways to prevent and detect diseases early, measuring disability from illness, building safer underground equipment and power sources, testing whether substances or equipment in a mine are toxic or hazardous when asked, publishing reports, and other work needed to meet the law’s goals. Health work in mines is done by HHS through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Safety work is done by the Interior Department, working with HHS. The two secretaries can hire or give grants to public or private groups and people to do this work. Results, products, patents, and other developments from the research must be made available to the public, except for any limits the secretaries find necessary in the public interest. HHS must also study health risks to people who work with mine products outside the mines. The Interior Department may get up to $20,000,000 for the year ending June 30, 1970; $25,000,000 for the year ending June 30, 1971; and $60,000,000 for the year ending June 30, 1972 and each year after that. HHS may be given whatever money is needed each year to do its duties. Money remains available until it is spent. The Secretary can allow a single mine to be exempted from a safety or health rule so accredited schools can test new techniques and equipment, but only if the Secretary finds it will not harm miners and publishes that finding. HHS can also give grants to develop better respiratory equipment.