Mine Deaths (9 out of 10) Could Have Been Avoided in the past 10 years if safety rules had been foll

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/11/12/mine-deaths-could-have-been-avoided/

Mine Deaths Could Have Been Avoided

by Tula Connell, Nov 12, 2006

Several items of interest this weekend regarding coal mine safety.

Nine of 10 coal mining deaths nationwide could have been avoided in the past 10 years if safety rules had been followed, according to Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia, who analyzed government data and reported in The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, a report submitted Friday by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin found that Massey Energy mine managers, state regulators and federal inspectors all share responsibility for the deaths of two miners in a January fire at Massey’s Aracoma Alma No. 1 mine, according to the Charleston Gazette.

The 63-page report cited a “severe manpower shortage” prevented state inspectors from properly enforcing safety rules at the mine. At the time of the fire, two inspectors at the state agency’s district office were off work because of illness and injuries, the report said. But according to the Gazette:

However, even when the office is fully staffed, just 12 inspectors are responsible for completing quarterly inspections of 83 underground mines and 40 preparation plants. Also, four electrical inspectors are required to conduct annual examinations. In order to do so, each would have to make 123 inspections every three months, the report said. “This is a tremendous workload — the math would suggest an almost impossible task,” McAteer said in the report.

And over at Confined Spaces, Jordan Barab cites a report by Kathy Snyder of Minesafetywatch that cites reports on three mine officials who are on their way to jail for lying to MSHA officials about a 2003 death at a southern Illinois coal mine.

[QC]

1. kick!

:kick:

[valerief]

2. Yeah, but the mining investors wouldn't have made as money and

that's all that's important, after all.
:grr: