Mine Safety Lags 2 Years After Sago Blast

2 Years After Fatal W.Va. Mine Explosion, Safety Laws Still Not Implemented

(AP)  Two years after an explosion tore apart the Sago Mine and killed 12 men, prompting Congress to pass legislation strengthening mine safety standards, many of those standards have yet to be implemented.

Congress overhauled mine safety rules after the January 2006 blast at the Upshur County mine. There were two other high-profile fatal mine accidents that year, and an August collapse in Utah killed nine miners.

But the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has yet to implement some of the standards established by the laws, and the United Mine Workers union, which represents some of the 42,000 miners who work in the nation's 670 underground coal mines, blames the agency and mine owners for the delays.

"MSHA, quite frankly, for some time now, since about 2001, has not been the agency that it was mandated to be by Congress to protect the coal miners in this country," union president Cecil Roberts said. "MSHA, I think, has gone backwards."

The miners' union sharply criticized the agency for failing to conduct quarterly inspections of every underground mine, as it is required to do.

Furthermore, the MSHA hasn't established standards mandating stronger methods of sealing abandoned sections of underground mines, as it the new legislation requires it to do. It also hasn't established rules requiring mine rescue teams to get better equipment and training, or requiring mines to be equipped with wireless underground communications, airtight refuge chambers for trapped miners, or fire-resistant conveyor belts.

"What remains to be done is a sustained effort," said James Dean, who ran West Virginia's Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training for six months following the Sago accident and now heads a state task force that evaluates mine safety equipment.

MSHA director Richard Stickler said his agency has made progress in implementing the new standards, despite facing a shortage of trained mine inspectors and other difficulties.

"Nothing gets done as fast as I would like," Stickler said. "I think progress is being made."

He said stiffer penalties are now levied for certain violations, there has been a 42 percent increase in the number of citations issued from 2003 to 2007, and the number of mines ordered to temporarily shut down for violating safety standards has more than doubled during that time period.

"Unfortunately, a lot of what we've been doing is sort of focusing on yesterday's fires," Stickler said. "That takes away a lot of resources to do that. Where we want to get is looking ahead."

For example, he said, the collapse of the Crandall Canyon in Utah this year prompted the MSHA to re-examine roof control plans at all areas prone to the kind of ground shift that is believed to have caused the collapse and at all mines engaged in so-called retreat mining, where pillars of coal left to support the roof are shaved down and sometimes removed altogether.

Stickler said he hopes to propose rules for refuge chambers and alternatives such as hardened rooms by June. Rules addressing fire-resistant belts and a recommendation that mines be allowed to ventilate working faces with air sucked through belt tunnels also are due by June.

[offtheback]

Surprised Thank a Republican

Georges Mamas a Man ...can hardly wait for the Lynching to start.

Kiss My @$$ reptiles.


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Posted by beecuster

Brilliant, articulate commentary. Seems the third grade treated you well..

[jetranger7]

Well actually the Dept.of Labor, OSHA, the FMCSA, the DOT - the FAA, and others have been bought off by Corporate America to look the other way,, all AMERICANS are working in worse working condition than ever before as pointed out in an investigative news segement on the PBS show "FRONTLINE" - WWW.FRONTLINE.ORG

[mwhc1]

you people voted for bush... twice. and now you complain????? maybe a lesson learned, maybe.

[downsteamjim]

We need to send our great Democrat legislators to the People''s Republic of China so they could learn how a turly humanitarian government deals with mine safety.

[dowjones20k]

Funny how a majority of the comments here attack Bush ... though I am not surprised ...

If you read and comprehend the article ... Congress passed these laws .. and maybe lehey, conyers, waxman, kennedy, kerry and all the other radical lefites could devote a few hearings on this subject instead of witch hunting for potential political gain?

Oh maybe not ....

Sad that folks dont see through the smoke and mirrors ........ seems most folks are so gullible or brainwashed that they can''t fathom that ALL current pols are crooks, liars and idiots ...

VOTE THEM ALL OUT OF OFFICE ... AND IMPLEMENT TERM LIMITS !!

That may solve some of the issues ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

[inventagod]

Bu$HAMErica

[undermyboot]

Wow. Hard to believe Bush and his people are actually human beings. I guess, since the Bush daughters don''t mine, miners are just worthless sh*t to be used by Bush''s corporate mine contributors. And these people call themselves "good Christians." Makes you want to throw up.

[incog-nito]

President Bush has just announced he will make mine safety a top priority, after two more explosions.

[sgtrds]

neobrian

To Bush and his cronies working men and women are not even human beings. The them they are just entries on a ledger book. An expendable commodity to be consumed and then tossed aside. They are blinded by their elitism that divides the world into two classes, the rich and those who serve them. they honestly believe the world was meant to be run that way. To them there is themselves and their friends and everyone else is sub-human and doesn''t count.

[excoachken]

Bush will improve mine safety in this country once he gets the infrastructure of Iraq all fixed up.