Title 30
SECTION 70.201
70.201 Sampling; general and technical requirements.
§ 70.201 Sampling; general and technical requirements.(a) Only an approved coal mine dust personal sampler unit (CMDPSU) shall be used to take bimonthly samples of the concentration of respirable coal mine dust from the designated occupation (DO) in each MMU as required by this part until January 31, 2016. On February 1, 2016, DOs in each MMU shall be sampled quarterly with an approved CPDM as required by this part and an approved CMDPSU shall not be used, unless notified by the Secretary to continue to use an approved CMDPSU to conduct quarterly sampling.
(b) Only an approved CMDPSU shall be used to take bimonthly samples of the concentration of respirable coal mine dust from each designated area (DA) as required by this part until January 31, 2016. On February 1, 2016:
(1) DAs associated with an MMU shall be redesignated as Other Designated Occupations (ODO). ODOs shall be sampled quarterly with an approved CPDM as required by this part and an approved CMDPSU shall not be used, unless notified by the Secretary to continue to use an approved CMDPSU to conduct quarterly sampling.
(2) DAs identified by the operator under § 75.371(t) of this chapter shall be sampled quarterly with an approved CMDPSU as required by this part, unless the operator notifies the District Manager in writing that only an approved CPDM will be used for all DA sampling at the mine. The notification must be received at least 90 days before the beginning of the quarter in which CPDMs will be used to collect the DA samples.
(c) Sampling devices shall be worn or carried directly to the MMU or DA to be sampled and from the MMU or DA sampled and shall be operated portal-to-portal. Sampling devices shall remain with the occupation or DA being sampled and shall be operational during the entire shift, which includes the total time spent in the MMU or DA and while traveling to and from the mining section or area being sampled. If the work shift to be sampled is longer than 12 hours and the sampling device is:
(1) A CMDPSU, the operator shall switch-out the unit's sampling pump prior to the 13th-hour of operation.
(2) A CPDM, the operator shall switch-out the CPDM with a fully charged device prior to the 13th-hour of operation.
(d) If using a CMDPSU, one control filter shall be used for each shift of sampling. Each control filter shall:
(1) Have the same pre-weight date (noted on the dust data card) as the filters used for sampling;
(2) Remain plugged at all times;
(3) Be used for the same amount of time, and exposed to the same temperature and handling conditions as the filters used for sampling;
(4) Be kept with the exposed samples after sampling and in the same mailing container when transmitted to MSHA.
(e) Records showing the length of each production shift for each MMU shall be made and retained for at least six months and shall be made available for inspection by authorized representatives of the Secretary and the representative of miners, and submitted to the District Manager when requested in writing.
(f) Upon request from the District Manager, the operator shall submit the date and time any respirable dust sampling required by this part will begin. This information shall be submitted at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled sampling.
(g) To establish a normal production shift, the operator shall record the amount of run-of-mine material produced by each MMU during each shift to determine the average production for the most recent 30 production shifts, or for all production shifts if fewer than 30 shifts of production data are available. Production records shall be retained for at least six months and shall be made available for inspection by authorized representatives of the Secretary and the representative of miners.
(h) Operators using CPDMs shall provide training to all miners expected to wear a CPDM. The training shall be completed prior to a miner wearing a CPDM and then every 12 months thereafter. The training shall include:
(1) The importance of monitoring dust concentrations and properly wearing the CPDM.
(2) Explaining the basic features and capabilities of the CPDM;
(3) Discussing the various types of information displayed by the CPDM and how to access that information; and
(4) How to start and stop a short-term sample run during compliance sampling.
(i) An operator shall keep a record of the CPDM training at the mine site for 24 months after completion of the training. An operator may keep the record elsewhere if the record is immediately accessible from the mine site by electronic transmission. Upon request from an authorized representative of the Secretary, Secretary of HHS, or representative of miners, the operator shall promptly provide access to any such training records. The record shall include:
(1) The date of training;
(2) The names of miners trained; and
(3) The subjects included in the training.
(j) An anthracite mine using the full box, open breast, or slant breast mining method may use either a CPDM or a CMDPSU to conduct the required sampling. The mine operator shall notify the District Manager in writing of its decision to not use a CPDM.
(k) MSHA approval of the dust control portion of the operator's mine ventilation plan may be revoked based on samples taken by MSHA or in accordance with this part 70.