{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-45-45-910","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 45, § 45-910","heading":"Proper ground control - Rules and procedures","body":"A. The following rules and procedures shall be complied with\n\nfor proper ground control:\n\n1. Practices and standards acceptable to the Chief Mine\n\nInspector for the safe control of surface mine walls including the\n\noverall slope of the mine wall shall be established and followed by\n\nthe operator. Such standards shall be consistent with sound\n\nengineering, the nature of the ground and the seam mined, and the\n\ninsuring of safe working conditions according to the degree of\n\nslope. Mining methods shall be selected which will provide wall\n\nstability; including benching if necessary, to obtain a safe overall\n\nslope;\n\n2. All loose and hazardous material shall be stripped for a\n\nsafe distance from the edge of the highwall;\n\n3. The width and height of benches shall be governed by the\n\ntype of equipment to be used and the operation to be performed;\n\n4. Safe means of scaling walls shall be provided. Loose\n\nmaterial or trees on exposed wall areas shall be removed before any\n\nother work is performed in the exposed wall area;\n\n5. Men shall not work under dangerous walls. Hazardous\n\noverhanging walls shall be taken down immediately and other unsafe\n\nground conditions shall be corrected promptly or the areas shall be\n\nbarricaded or posted;\n\n6. When removing rock by hand, men shall approach loose rock\n\nfrom above and shall scale from a safe location those areas on walls\n\nwhich must be scaled;\n\n7. The supervisor or a certified person designated by him shall\n\nexamine working areas and faces of walls for unsafe conditions at\n\nleast at the beginning of each shift, during the shift while men are\n\nworking, and after blasting. Any unsafe condition found shall be\n\ncorrected before any further work is performed at the immediate area\n\nor face at which the unsafe condition exists;\n\n8. Men shall examine their working places before starting work\n\nand frequently thereafter and any unsafe condition shall be reported\n\nimmediately to the supervisor before any other work is performed;\n\n9. Large boulders requiring secondary blasting shall be in a\n\nsafe location before they are drilled or broken; and\n\n10. Men shall not be permitted to work between equipment and\n\nthe mine wall where the equipment may hinder escape from falls or\n\nslides of the wall, unless special safety precautions are taken in\n\nadvance.\n\nB. The following rules and procedures shall be complied with\n\nfor proper fire prevention and control:\n\n1. No person shall smoke or use an open flame where flammable\n\nor combustible liquids or greases are stored or in areas or places\n\nwhere fire or explosion hazards exist;\n\n2. Signs warning against smoking and open flames shall be\n\nposted so they can readily be seen in areas or places where fire or\n\nexplosion hazards exist;\n\n3. Areas surrounding flammable-liquid storage tanks and\n\nelectric substations and transformers shall be kept free from dry\n\ngrass, weeds, underbrush and other combustible materials for at\n\nleast twenty-five (25) feet in all directions;\n\n4. Fires used for warming purposes shall be enclosed to prevent\n\npersons from coming in contact with flame or coals which would\n\nignite clothing. Oily or easily ignited clothing shall not be worn\n\nwhere ignition hazards are present;\n\n5. Buildings or rooms in which oil, grease, flammable liquids\n\nor similar flammable materials are stored shall be of fire-resistant\n\nconstruction and well ventilated. Provisions shall be made to\n\ncontrol spilled flammable liquids;\n\n6. Abandoned electrical circuits shall be de-energized and\n\nisolated so that they cannot become energized inadvertently. If no\n\nfurther use is intended they shall be removed;\n\n7. Combustible materials, grease, lubricants or flammable\n\nliquids shall not be allowed to accumulate where they can create a\n\nfire hazard;\n\n8. Materials, such as oily waste and rags, which are subject to\nflammable liquids;\n\n6. Abandoned electrical circuits shall be de-energized and\n\nisolated so that they cannot become energized inadvertently. If no\n\nfurther use is intended they shall be removed;\n\n7. Combustible materials, grease, lubricants or flammable\n\nliquids shall not be allowed to accumulate where they can create a\n\nfire hazard;\n\n8. Materials, such as oily waste and rags, which are subject to\n\nspontaneous combustion shall be placed in tightly covered metal\n\ncontainers until disposed of properly;\n\n9. When flammable solvents are used for cleaning, such solvents\n\nshall be transported in safety cans of not over five-gallon\n\ncapacity. When used to clean parts, the containers used shall have\n\ntight-fitting covers. No cleaning may be done with flammable\n\nsolvents near a possible source of ignition;\n\n10. Oxygen cylinders shall not be stored near oil or grease;\n\n11. Gauges and regulators used with oxygen or acetylene\n\ncylinders shall be kept clean and free of oil and grease;\n\n12. Valves on oxygen and acetylene tanks shall be kept closed\n\nwhen they are not in use;\n\n13. Battery charging stations shall be located in well-\n\nventilated areas and in the clear of other equipment;\n\n14. Internal combustion engines shall be shut off and stopped\n\nbefore being fueled;\n\n15. Each mine shall have available, or be provided with,\n\nappropriate types of fire-fighting equipment adequate for the size\n\nof the mine;\n\n16. Fire-fighting equipment shall be strategically located,\n\nreadily accessible, plainly marked, properly maintained and\n\ninspected periodically with records kept of such inspections;\n\n17. Fire extinguishers shall be:\n\na. adequate in number and size and of the appropriate type\n\nfor each particular fire hazard involved,\n\nb. replaced immediately with full charged extinguishers of\n\nthe same capability after any discharge is made from\n\nthe extinguishers,\n\nc. tested at least once every twelve (12) months and\n\nmaintained according to the manufacturer's\n\nrecommendation. Each extinguisher shall bear a tag\n\nshowing the date of testing and the name of the person\n\nmaking the examination for testing, and\n\nd. approved by Underwriter's Laboratories, Inc. or Factory\n\nMutual Research Corporation;\n\n18. Appropriate fire extinguishers shall be provided on self-\n\npropelled mobile equipment;\n\n19. Fire extinguishers of the appropriate type and size shall\n\nbe an integral part of portable cutting and welding equipment;\n\n20. When welding or cutting near combustible materials,\n\nprecautions shall be taken to insure that smoldering metal or sparks\n\ndo not result in fire; and\n\n21. Belt conveyors in locations where fire would create a\n\nhazard to personnel shall be provided with safety switches to stop\n\nthe drive pulley automatically in the event the belt stalls or there\n\nis excessive slippage.","path":["OK Code","Title 45"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os45.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"f412be4bab1c89451039e19e7721ea15e9b7b1f59b551b52664db28efcdca02f","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-45-45-909","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-45-45-911"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}