§ 45.2-550 Requirements of recovery work
A. During recovery work and prior to entering any mine, every mine rescue team conducting recovery work shall be properly informed of existing conditions by the operator or his agent in charge.
B. Each mine rescue team performing rescue or recovery work with breathing apparatus shall be provided with a backup team of equal strength stationed at each fresh air base.
C. For every two teams performing work underground, one six-member team shall be stationed at the mine portal.
D. Two-way communication, life lines, or their equivalent shall be provided by the fresh air base to each team, and no team member shall be permitted to advance beyond such communication system.
E. A mine rescue team shall immediately return to the fresh air base if any team member’s breathing apparatus malfunctions or the low-oxygen alarm activates.
F. The Director may also assign rescue and recovery work to inspectors, instructors, or other qualified employees of the Department as the Director determines desirable.
History
This law was first created in 1975. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 432 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1975 “Acts” aren’t available online. It has been modified 2 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1984, chapter 590; in 1994, chapter 28.
1975, c. 432, § 45.1-33.5; 1984, c. 590; 1994, c. 28, § 45.1-161.72; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.