State Mining Supervision

in the USSR a system of measures to ensure state checks on observation of rules, norms, and instructions and to monitor the development and implementation of preventive measures related to safety techniques and protection of the earth’s interior. The highest body that carries on state mining supervision is the State Committee for Supervision of Safe Conduct of Work in Industry and for Mining Supervision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Gosgortekhnadzor SSSR).

The primary tasks of state mining supervision are overseeing the safe conduct of work in the industries related to coal, ore mining, mining-chemistry, nonmetallic mining, petroleum and gas extraction, chemistry, metallurgy, and petroleum and gas refining: checking the activity of geological survey expeditions and parties and checking the installation and operation of underground structures, furnace units and vessels working under pressure, pipelines for steam and hot water, and installations related to the extraction, transportation, storage, and use of gas; overseeing the safe conduct of explosives work in industry, the correct exploitation of deposits of useful minerals, and the protection of the earth’s interior; and assigning sectors for development.

Gosgortekhnadzor ratifies in an established manner sector and intersector rules, instructions, and norms on safe conduct of work for the industrial sectors monitored. Its duties also include issuing authorizations for the use of new models of electromechanical equipment, excavating machines (with regard to general safety and prevention of dust formation), and control and measuring instruments, as well as new models of mining self-rescue units. This machinery is produced in explosion-proof mining variations designed for underground work.

Gosgortekhnadzor and its agencies are given the following rights: to stop work; to issue orders on the elimination of violations of rules, norms, and instructions relative to safe conduct of work and protection of the earth’s interior (these orders are compulsory for enterprise and organization managers); to recommend disciplinary penalties and removal from their jobs of persons who systematically violate the rules, norms, and instructions and also persons who arbitrarily permit work to be started again; to fine officials; to investigate the circumstances and causes of accidents and cases of production injuries leading to serious consequences; to work with state acceptance commissions in accepting for operation enterprises and industrial installations subordinate to agencies of Gosgortekhnadzor; and to check on the condition and readiness of the paramilitary mine rescue units and subdivisions of the gas rescue service.

Gosgortekhnadzor carries on its activity in contact with the technical inspectorates of the trade unions of the corresponding sector.