EX-95 8 d361646dex95.htm MINE SAFETY Mine Safety

Exhibit 95

MINE SAFETY

At Alcoa, management strives to work safely in a manner that protects and promotes the health and well-being of the Company’s employees, contractors, and the communities in which Alcoa operates because it is fundamentally the right thing to do. Despite uncertainties and economic challenges, Alcoa remains committed to living its values and managing risks accordingly. In 2011, 48% of Alcoa’s global locations reported no recordable injuries, and 79% reported zero lost workdays. In Alcoa’s 2011 Employee Global Voices Survey, “I work in an environment that promotes safety” led all positive responses (85%) by employees participating in the survey.

Alcoa’s health and safety systems are anchored by committed people who are actively engaged and effectively support a safe work environment, safe work methods, and overall production system stability. Each day, people at all levels proactively monitor and intervene to defend against weaknesses that develop in Alcoa’s safety systems by identifying potential hazards and error-likely situations and responding to eliminate or control them.

In the table below there are disclosures involving the Point Comfort, TX alumina refinery. All citations have been or are being addressed. None constituted an imminent danger.

Dodd-Frank Act Disclosure of Mine Safety and Health Administration Safety Data

Certain of Alcoa’s U.S. facilities are subject to regulation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) under the U.S. Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”). The MSHA inspects these facilities on a regular basis and issues various citations and orders when it believes a violation has occurred under the Mine Act. Whenever the MSHA issues a citation or order, it also generally proposes a civil penalty, or fine, related to the alleged violation. Citations or orders can be contested and appealed, and as part of that process, are often reduced in severity and amount, and are sometimes dismissed.

Management believes the following mine safety disclosures meet the requirements of section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”).

Mine Safety Data. The table and other data below present mine safety information related to Alcoa’s U.S. facilities subject to MSHA regulation, as required by section 1503(a)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Act. The following data reflects citations and orders received from the MSHA during the quarter ended June 30, 2012, as reflected in the MSHA system on June 30, 2012, and the proposed penalties received from the MSHA during such period. ($ in full amounts)

 

Mine or Operating

Name/MSHA

Identification

Number(1)

  Section
104 S&S
Citations(3)
(#)
    Section
104(b)
Orders(4)
(#)
    Section
104(d)
Citations
and
Orders(5)
(#)
    Section
110(b)(2)
Violations(6)
(#)
    Section
107(a)
Orders(7)
(#)
    Total Dollar
Value of
MSHA
Assessments
Proposed(8)
($)
    Total
Number
of
Mining
Related
Fatalities
(#)
    Received
Notice of
Pattern of
Violations
Under
Section
104(e)
(yes/no)
    Received
Notice of
Potential to
Have Pattern
Under
Section104(e)
(yes/no)
    Legal
Actions
Pending
as of
Last
Day of
Period
(#)
    Legal
Actions
Initiated
During
Period
(#)
    Legal
Actions
Resolved
During
Period
(#)
 

Point Comfort, TX

Alumina

Refinery(2)

    —          —          —          —          —        $ 25,935        —          no        no        5        1        —     

 

(1) The MSHA assigns an identification number to each mine or operation and may or may not assign separate identification numbers to related facilities. The information provided in this table is presented by mine or operation rather than the MSHA identification number because that is how Alcoa manages and operates its business, and management believes that this presentation is more useful to investors.
(2) Under the Interagency Agreement dated March 29, 1979 between the MSHA, the U.S. Department of Labor, and The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, alumina refineries (such as Alcoa’s Point Comfort facility) are subject to MSHA jurisdiction.
(3) Represents the total number of citations issued under section 104 of the Mine Act, for violations of mandatory health or safety standards that could significantly and substantially contribute to a serious injury if left unabated. This includes the citations listed under the column headed §104(d).
(4) Represents the total number of orders issued under section 104(b) of the Mine Act, which represents a failure to abate a citation under section 104(a) within the period prescribed by the MSHA. This results in an order of immediate withdrawal from the area of the mine affected by the condition until the MSHA determines that the violation has been abated.
(5) Represents the total number of citations and orders issued under section 104(d) of the Mine Act for unwarrantable failure to comply with mandatory health or safety standards.
(6) Represents the total number of flagrant violations identified under section 110(b)(2) of the Mine Act.
(7) Represents the total number of imminent danger orders issued under section 107(a) of the Mine Act.
(8) Amounts represent the total dollar value of proposed assessments received.


During the quarter ended June 30, 2012, Alcoa had no mining related fatalities, and none of the Company’s mining operations received written notice from the MSHA of a pattern of, or the potential to have a pattern of, violations of mandatory health or safety standards that are of such nature as could have significantly and substantially contributed to the cause and effect of mine health or safety hazards under section 104(e) of the Mine Act.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (the “Commission”) is an independent adjudicative agency that provides administrative trial and appellate review of legal disputes arising under the Mine Act. As of June 30, 2012, Alcoa has a total of five matters pending before the Commission. All of these matters concern contests of citations or orders issued under section 104 of the Mine Act, along with the contests of the proposed penalties for each of these and were issued by the MSHA during 2011 (four cases) and 2012 (one case).