The Mine Health and Safety Act of 1996
The Mine Health and Safety Act of 1996 indicates that records cited in sections 12, 13, and 14 of the act must be retained by employers until the moment a mine is closed. Part 3 of Section 12 includes records of occupational hygiene measurements. These documents are vital for the process involving employees and medical surveillance. Part 3 of Section 13 refers to several documents that include medical surveillance of employees exposed to health hazards. The Section also references related measures that can be impacted by the records, which are medical surveillance for part-time and full-time services, occupational medical practitioners, and the supply of practitioners with the resources to perform relevant operations.
Part 1 of Section 14 cites service records at every mine and employee, in the appropriate format, with regard to medical surveillance conduct according to Section 13. Section 13 refers to a multitude of health-related functions such as medical systems, information management, the employment of a medical practitioner, occupational disease policy, employees that are temporarily unfit, and the delivery of records to inspectors in the case of a closing mine. Essentially, the maintenance of records mentioned in Section 14 accounts for the cohesion and completeness of information throughout the mine and other relevant work settings. The records of Section 12 help employers in adhering to the policies and processes administered at the mine, while Section 13 records outline events in which employees were exposed to health hazards. Section 14 records allow for the complete and accurate accumulation of relevant documents in regard to all health-focused facets at an operational mine. All the records employers must maintain are vital for safe and effective work operations at a mine.