                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 ON-SHIFT EXAMINATIONS (§ 45.2-827)

A. At least once during each shift, and more often if necessary, a certified
person shall examine each underground section where coal is produced and any
other area where mechanized mining equipment is being installed or removed
during the shift. The certified person shall (i) examine for hazardous
conditions, (ii) test for methane and oxygen deficiency with a suitable
permissible device, and (iii) determine whether the air is traveling in its
regular course and in sufficient volume in each split. Any hazardous condition
shall be corrected immediately or the miners shall be withdrawn and the affected
area plainly marked with danger signs.

B. During each shift in which coal is produced, a certified person shall examine
for hazardous conditions along each underground belt conveyor entry where a belt
conveyor is operated. Such examination may be conducted at the same time as the
pre-shift examination of the belt conveyors and the belt conveyor entries, if
the examination is conducted within three hours before the established
eight-hour interval. The person conducting the examination shall certify by
initials, date, and time at enough locations to show that the entire area has
been examined.

C. A person conducting an on-shift examination shall determine at the following
underground locations:

   1. The volume of air in the last open crosscut of each set of entries or rooms
   on each working section and in any area in which mechanized mining equipment
   is being installed or removed;

   2. The volume of air on a longwall or shortwall, including any area where
   longwall or shortwall equipment is being installed or removed, in the intake
   entry or entries at the intake end of the longwall or shortwall;

   3. The velocity of air at each end of the longwall or shortwall face at each
   location specified in the approved ventilation plan required pursuant to the
   federal mine safety law; and

   4. The volume of air at the intake end of any pillar line (i) in the intake
   entry furthest from the return air course, immediately outby the first open
   crosscut outby the line of pillars being mined, if a single split of air is
   used or (ii) in the intake entries of each split, immediately inby the split
   point, if a split system is used.

D. A test shall be made for methane before (i) any electrically powered
equipment is taken inby the last open crosscut, (ii) any blasting takes place,
and (iii) work is resumed after blasting. When a longwall or shortwall mining
system is used, such methane test shall be made from under permanent roof
support at the shearer, the plow, or the cutting head. Such methane test shall
be made at least once every 20 minutes or more often as necessary for safety
while such equipment is in operation. When mining has been stopped for more than
20 minutes, a methane test shall be conducted prior to the start-up of
equipment.

E. Each idle or worked-out area underground, including any section belt that has
been idle for a period of 24 hours or more, shall be examined by a certified
person immediately before miners are permitted to enter or work in such area.
The person conducting the examination shall certify completion of the
examination by initials, date, and time at enough locations to show that the
entire area has been examined.

F. Daily and on-shift examinations of surface areas of underground coal mines
shall be made in accordance with the requirements for daily and on-shift
examinations at surface coal mines as provided in &#xA7; 45.2-903.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 45-32, 45-33, 45-60.4, 45-60.5, 45-68.1, 45-69.7,
45-83; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, §§ 45.1-20, 45.1-62, 45.1-65, 45.1-83;
1978, c. 120; 1982, c. 385; 1993, c. 442; 1994, c. 28, § 45.1-161.209; 1996, c.
774; 1999, c. 256; 2005, c. 3; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.