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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>364482</law_id><section_number>45.2-810</section_number><catch_line> Circuit breakers and switches</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2026/" slug="2026" current="TRUE" last_updated="2026-08-02">2026</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="99" identifier="45.2">Mines, Minerals, and Energy</unit><unit label="subtitle" level="2" order_by="2" identifier="II">Coal Mining</unit><unit label="part" level="3" order_by="2" identifier="B">Underground Coal Mines</unit><unit label="chapter" level="4" order_by="2" identifier="8">Requirements Applicable to Underground Coal Mines; Electricity, Safety, Etc</unit><unit label="article" level="5" order_by="2" identifier="2">Electricity</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> Automatic <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> breaking devices or fuses of the correct type and capacity shall be installed so as to protect each piece of electrical equipment and each power <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> against excessive overload; however, this requirement shall not apply to any locomotive that is operated regularly on a grade that exceeds five percent. Wire or other conducting <span class="dictionary">material</span> shall not be used as a substitute for a properly designed fuse, and every <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> breaking device shall be maintained in safe operating condition. <a id="paragraph-1357893" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/45.2-810/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> An automatic <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> breaker of the correct type and capacity shall be installed on each resistance-grounded <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> used underground. Such <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> breaker shall be located at the power source and equipped with devices to provide protection against under-voltage, grounded phase, short <span class="dictionary">circuit</span>, and overcurrent. <a id="paragraph-1357894" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/45.2-810/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="C"><p><span class="prefix-number">C.</span> Operating controls such as switches, starters, and switch buttons shall be installed so that they are readily accessible and can be operated without danger of contact with moving or electrified parts. <a id="paragraph-1357895" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/45.2-810/#C"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="D"><p><span class="prefix-number">D.</span> A disconnecting switch shall be installed underground in each main power <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> within approximately 500 feet of the bottom of each shaft or borehole and at any other place at which a main power <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> enters the mine. <a id="paragraph-1357896" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/45.2-810/#D"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="E"><p><span class="prefix-number">E.</span> Each piece of electrical equipment and each <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> shall be provided with switches or other controls of safe design, construction, and installation. <a id="paragraph-1357897" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/45.2-810/#E"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="F"><p><span class="prefix-number">F.</span> Insulating mats or other electrically nonconductive <span class="dictionary">material</span> shall be kept in place at each power-control switch and at any piece of stationary machinery at which a shock hazard exists. <a id="paragraph-1357898" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/45.2-810/#F"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="G"><p><span class="prefix-number">G.</span> Each <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> breaker, disconnecting device, and switch shall be marked for identification. <a id="paragraph-1357899" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/45.2-810/#G"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>Code 1950, &#xA7; 45-82.3; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, &#xA7; 45.1-80; 1994, c. 28, &#xA7; 45.1-161.189; 1999, c. 256; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
