The state Department of Environmental Protection is urging people to keep out of dangerous abandoned mines, minelands and quarries where 249 have died in the United States since 2000, 31 of those in Pennsylvania.

A public information program, "Stay Out -- Stay Alive," was launched by DEP today in partnership with the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, other mining states and mining companies.

"Mines are not safe places for swimming, exploring or off-road riding," DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty said today at an abandoned mine site that is just off the popular Pan Handle Trail in Smith Township, Washington County. "When you venture into these sites, you put your life and the lives of emergency personnel who conduct the search and rescue operations at risk."

Pennsylvania has the largest abandoned mine lands problem in the nation with 250,000 acres of abandoned mine land. At least 44 of the state's 67 counties have abandoned mine sites. In Allegheny County, there are 263 identified abondoned mine sites affecting 4,514 acres.