MSHA Upgrades Its Mine Data Retrieval System

This week, MSHA announced the completion of an upgrade to its Mine Data Retrieval System, or MDRS, an online tool that provides access to data such as coal dust samples, noise samples, and personal health samples. MDRS gathers current and historical data from several agency databases and provides mine-by-mine data for all coal and metal/nonmetal mines and contractors in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. According to MSHA, the upgraded system provides increased functionality, including advanced search capabilities that allow users to select entire industries, multiple mines, and ownership groups. Agency-wide statistical reports that provide real-time data are now tied to MDRS, and users can export datasets into Excel or PDF format. The standard reports previously provided by MDRS remain available.

In addition to health sampling data, MDRS also provides access to mine location, status, ownership, employment, production, and accident, inspection, and violations history.

The legacy version of MDRS remains available but is slated to be phased out. MSHA encourages users to get acclimated to the new platform. The MRDS manual (PDF) describes how to access and use the platform’s maps, charts, dashboards, reports, and datasets in greater detail.

Further information is available in MSHA’s press release.