After nearly 2½ years of regulatory scrutiny and upgrades, the Morton Salt mine in New Iberia has been removed from a "safety watch" after improving its compliance with federal rules, U.S. officials told our media partners at The Advocate.
In December 2022, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, the workplace safety regulator for miners, placed the Morton Salt mine inside the Weeks Island salt dome under greater scrutiny for a series of violations that could have resulted in serious employee injuries, the newspaper reports.
Morton Salt, which operates the Weeks Island Mine and Mill, implemented measures that led to better workplace conditions, MSHA officials told The Advocate.
"We recognize the efforts made by Weeks Island Mine and Mill to take the corrective actions needed," Melanie Calhoun, MSHA’s acting deputy assistant secretary for operations, said in a statement to The Advocate. "They have created a safer working environment for their miners."
The newspaper reports that MSHA officials declined to comment in detail on what changes Morton Salt has made at the mine. Morton Salt officials and representatives of the miners' union have not responded to requests for comment.
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