MSHA announced 14 new safety standards Tuesday that regulators said are commonly behind mining accidents and fatalities. This is the third phase in MSHA's "Rules to Live By" initiative and it focuses on how to prevent common mining deaths.

MSHA officials said last year was the second lowest year for mining deaths on record.

Most of the the new standards have to do with surface mining.

Mr Joseph Main the Assistant Secretary of Labor for MSHA said that "If you take a look at last year where we had 37 deaths in the United States. The sector of the mining industry that had the greatest number of deaths was surface coal mining.”

Surface mining deaths accounted for two thirds of mining deaths last year.

(Sourced from www.wkyt.com)