A. Any hazardous condition found by the mine foreman or other certified persons designated by the operator for the purposes of conducting examinations under Article 14 (§ 45.1-161.208 et seq.) of this chapter shall be corrected immediately, or the affected area shall be dangered off until the condition is corrected. If the hazardous condition creates an imminent danger all persons except those required to perform work to correct the imminent danger shall be withdrawn from the affected area. A record of the hazardous condition found and the corrective actions taken shall be made in a book maintained for this purpose on the surface at the mine. The record shall be made by the completion of the shift on which the hazardous condition is found.

B. Upon completing the pre-shift examination, the mine foreman shall return to the surface or a designated station underground and report in person to an authorized person before other miners enter the mine. Immediately upon reaching the surface, the mine foreman shall record in ink or indelible pencil the result of his inspection in a book kept on the surface for that purpose.

C. At the completion of any shift during which a portion of a weekly examination is made, a record of hazardous conditions, their locations, the corrective action taken, and the results and location of air and methane measurements shall be made. The record shall be made by the person making the examination or by a person designated by the operator. If the record is made by a person other than the examiner, the examiner shall verify the record by initials and date.

D. The actual level of methane detected in any examination shall be recorded in the book.

E. A mine foreman or other certified person conducting a required examination shall record the results of his examination in ink or indelible pencil in a book kept on the surface for that purpose. Similar records may be kept at designated stations or offices underground.

F. Records shall be countersigned by the supervisor of the examiner creating the records. Where such records disclose hazardous conditions, the countersigning of the records shall be performed no later than the end of the next regularly scheduled working shift following the shift for which the examination records were completed, and the person countersigning shall ensure that actions to eliminate or control the hazardous conditions have been taken. Where such records do not disclose hazardous conditions, the countersigning may be completed within 24 hours following the end of the shift for which the examination records were completed. The operator may authorize another person with equivalent authority of the supervisor to act in the supervisor's temporary absence to read and countersign the records and ensure that action is taken to eliminate the hazardous conditions disclosed in the records.

G. All records of examination shall be open for inspection by interested persons and maintained at the mine site for a minimum of one year.

Code 1950, §§ 45-32, 45-33, 45-60.4, 45-68.1, 45-69.7; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, § 45.1-65; 1978, c. 120; 1994, c. 28; 2005, c. 3.