republic-os/legal/us/code/title-30/chapter-22/section-864.md

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LegalText	30 U.S.C. § 864	Combustible materials and rock dusting	us	united_states_code	code_section	30	MINERAL LANDS AND MINING	22	MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH	864	30 U.S.C. § 864	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc30@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t30/s864	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-30/usc30.xml	09adfbd547c0e51d3033f4fad71aef7d307f5d04360fe76034c79b2963bfba37	355f8eb5c6ad5372de4a8e665d9ed90202d53d2aac19ac001d43948af4a4dd2f	63d0fa83c8e261118525efd856728b1c37de6780075d74c7d0c2e03a5d0eedd4	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

30 U.S.C. § 864 - Combustible materials and rock dusting

Text

(a) Accumulations; maintenance Coal dust, including float coal dust deposited on rock-dusted surfaces, loose coal, and other combustible materials, shall be cleaned up and not be permitted to accumulate in active workings, or on electric equipment therein.

(b) Abatement of hazards in active working areas Where underground mining operations in active workings create or raise excessive amounts of dust, water or water with a wetting agent added to it, or other no less effective methods approved by the Secretary or his authorized representative, shall be used to abate such dust. In working places, particularly in distances less than forty feet from the face, water, with or without a wetting agent, or other no less effective methods approved by the Secretary or his authorized representative, shall be applied to coal dust on the ribs, roof, and floor to reduce dispersibility and to minimize the explosion hazard.

(c) Rock dusting of all areas of underground mines; exceptions All underground areas of a coal mine, except those areas in which the dust is too wet or too high in incombustible content to propagate an explosion, shall be rock dusted to within forty feet of all working faces, unless such areas are inaccessible or unsafe to enter or unless the Secretary or his authorized representative permits an exception upon his finding that such exception will not pose a hazard to the miners. All crosscuts that are less than forty feet from a working face shall also be rock dusted.

(d) Distribution of rock dust; places, quantities Where rock dust is required to be applied, it shall be distributed upon the top, floor, and sides of all underground areas of a coal mine and maintained in such quantities that the incombustible content of the combined coal dust, rock dust, and other dust shall be not less than 65 per centum, but the incombustible content in the return aircourses shall be no less than 80 per centum. Where methane is present in any ventilating current, the per centum of incombustible content of such combined dusts shall be increased 1.0 and 0.4 per centum for each 0.1 per centum of methane where 65 and 80 per centum, respectively, of incombustibles are required.

(e) Limitation of applicability Subsections (b) through (d) of this section shall not apply to underground anthracite mines.

(Pub. L. 91–173, title III, § 304, Dec. 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 774.)

Notes

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective DateSection operative 90 days after Dec. 30, 1969, except to the extent an earlier date is specifically provided for in Pub. L. 91–173, see section 509 of Pub. L. 91–173, set out as a note under section 801 of this title.