KEARNEY –A $92,000 grant received by the Nebraska Safety Center will help the University of Nebraska at Kearney train new workers and contractors in Nebraska’s mining industry.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration grant helps the Safety Center offer training that focuses on electrical safety, lockout/tagout, proper handling of machinery and materials, hazard communication chemical safety, and first aid.
The Safety Center has administered statewide safety training for miners for 40 years, with its emphasis being injury and accident prevention. The latest grant will help train workers through Sept. 30. All new miners and any contractors are required to complete 24 hours of New Miner Training.
“We are dedicated to the safety of everyone involved in mining at all levels,” said Mick Anderson, Safety Center director. “With such a strong foundation with all our safety programs, we have been able to grow and expand in our effort to become not only the regional expert on safety, but to become the statewide expert and resource on all areas of safety.”
Nebraska’s more than 200 mines include sand and gravel operations and rock quarries across the state. A uranium mine is located in the northwest part of the state, and limestone, cement and clay mines are located in eastern Nebraska.
For more information about the Safety Center’s miner training, visit www.unk.edu/msha or call 308.865.8258. The Nebraska Safety Center is part of the College of Business and Technology at UNK.
