Mining
sb admin | July 10, 2007Dale Jones, 51 and Michael Wilt, 38 reported to work at the Caledonia Pit, a surface coal mine near Barton, Maryland at 5:30 am on Tuesday, April 17, 2007. In the 275 feet-deep pit, Jones operated the excavator while Wilt ran the dozer. By about 10:00 am that morning, something had gone terribly wrong. The massive highwall collapsed, burying the two coal miners under 93,000 tons of rock. John David Cook II, a co-worker and the shovel operator, dug night and day trying to reach Jones and Wilt. A state mining official who was on-site during the rescue-recovery operation said…
sb admin | June 25, 2007Last Wednesday, June 20, I learned from a newspaper reporter that a gold miner was missing at the Newmont company's Midas mine near Winnemucca, Nevada. I checked MSHA's website, but nothing was posted about the accident. No problem, I'll cut them some slack. Maybe within 24 hours they'd provide some details.Â
By Friday, there was still no news offered by MSHA, so I began to rely on the Newmont company's website and updates posted on the local Las Vegas TV stations (KVBC and KLAS). (The TV stations' stories provided no more information than that contained in the company's…
sb admin | June 24, 2007Louisville-Courier Journal reporters Laura Unger and Ralph Dunlop offer us the voices and faces of miners who are suffering from coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Their special report, Black Lung: Dust Hasn't Settled on Deadly Disease, includes an on-line version which features five compelling videos featuring 40- and 50-year old coal miners who are now suffering with the disabling lung disease. Mr. Danny Hall, 56, for example, who is still severely impaired despite receiving a lung transplant says "if I had to do over, I wouldn't ever go into coal mining."
The reporters begin the series…
sb admin | June 19, 2007Several members of the U.S. House and Senate introduced bills today to strengthen mine safety and health protections.  A  statement issued by Congressman George Miller (D-CA) says the bill builds upon the legislation passed in June 2006 called the MINER Act.Â
The House bills are HR 2768 and HR 2769  with co-sponsors of these House bills are: Bishop, Timothy (D-NY), Chandler, Ben (D-KY); Hare, Phil (D-IL); Holt, Rush (D-NJ); Kucinich, Dennis (D-OH); Mollohan, Alan B. (D-WV); Murtha, John (D-PA); Payne, Donald M. (D-NJ); Rahall, Nick J., II (D-WV); Sarbanes, John P. (D-MD); Woolsey,…
sb admin | June 15, 2007MSHA issued a news release yesterday announcing that eight mine operators have been put on notice for potential enforcement under the "pattern of violation" provisions of the Mine Act.  MSHA's release does not list the names of the mining operations, but the Charleston Gazette's Ken Ward is reporting that two of the mines are metal/non-metal operations and six are coal mines, including three in West Virginia.
In his written statement, MSHA' Assistant Secretary Richard Stickler said:
"The purpose of these letters is to put mine operators on notice about the repercussions they face if…
sb admin | June 8, 2007Richard Stickler, the Asst. Secretary for MSHA, announced a new educational campaign to increase awareness about black lung disease. This latest initiative comes in response to surveillance data showing newly diagnosed cases of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) among miners working in Lee County and Wise County, Virginia.  Stickler's "Control the Dust/Prevent Black Lung" campaign, which includes a personal letter sent to each and every underground coal mine operator in the country, is heavy on hand-holding with mine operators.  My question:
Mr. Stickler, where's the…
sb admin | May 18, 2007When MSHA issued its 190-page report last week on the January 2006 Sago Mine disaster, most of the press focused on the agency's conclusion that a lightning strike was the "most likely ignition source" for the explosion. Readers should not forget however, that 29 coal miners were underground at the time of the explosion. Only one (Mr. Terry Helms) was immediately and seriously injured from the powerful blast (an estimated 93 psi) which destroyed, and in some cases pulverized, the seals built to partition an abandoned section of the mine from the active area. The other 28 miners…
sb admin | May 14, 2007In March 2006, a coalition of industry trade groups, led by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), filed suit in federal court challenging OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard. This rule, issued by OSHA in 1983, (48 Federal Register 53280) provides fundamental right-to-know protections to most U.S. workers.  Among other things, the HazCom rule requires employers to give workers access to material safety data sheets (MSDS) which contain information on chemical substances to which the workers may be exposed on the job. The MSDS's are required to include health hazard…
sb admin | April 13, 2007The owners-operators of the Kentucky Darby Mine No. 1, Ralph Napier, Connie G. Napier, and John D. North, were assessed a $336,000 penalty by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for violations related to the May 20, 2006 explosion and death of five coal miners. Press reports indicate that MSHA officials met for four hours yesterday with family members of the deceased miners, along with Paul Ledford, the only survivor from the crew, to discuss their investigation, findings and the citations issued to the mine operator.Â
The Louisville Courier-Journalâs Ralph Dunlop…
sb admin | March 29, 2007The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced a record $1.5 million penalty against Massey Energy Company for violations related to the January 19, 2006 deaths of Ellery Hatfield, 46 and Don Bragg, 33 at the Aracoma Alma #1 Mine in Stollings, WV. The investigators, led by MSHA district manager Kenny Murray of Pikeville, KY, found more than two dozen violations of MSHA standards. Twenty-one of the 25 violations were classified as "reckless disregard," the most severe category of negligence under MSHA's penalty structure. In a prepared statement, the company said…
sb admin | March 14, 2007The United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) will be issuing tomorrow (March 15) a report on the January 2006 Sago Mine disaster. West Virginia Senators Byrd and Rockefeller are expected to join UMWA President Cecil Roberts in the Senate Dirksen Building at 11:00 am (EST) for a news conference releasing the report. The UMWA will likely offer their own theory for the cause of the explosion.
Based on previous statements and testimony offered by UMWA officials, I expect the union to reject the theory that the explosion was related to a lightning strike.  Instead, they will probably …
sb admin | March 9, 2007CBS News correspodent Bob Simon traveled to eastern Kentucky to investigate the hazards faced by underground coal miners. His conversation with women who lost their husbands in the May 2006 Darby Mine disaster will air on this Sunday, March 11 at 7:00 PM (EST).
Melissa Lee, whose husband Jimmy died at the Darby Mine explains why she's taking on the mining industry and working for safety reforms.Â
"Too many people here in Harlan County have husbands underground. And if me speaking out keeps their sons safe, their grandsons safe, their son-in-laws safe, then I've done something good.…
sb admin | February 27, 2007The House Education and Labor Committee, chaired by George Miller (D-CA), issued a progress report on MSHA's implementation of the MINER Act of 2006. The report says implementation by the agency and mining industry of certain provisions of the new law are "proceeding too slowly," including inadequate application of underground communication and tracking devices.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's blog "The Gavel" quickly linked to the report and provides some politico-historical context. For me, the most promising aspect of the report is the Committee and staff's appreciation for…
sb admin | February 22, 2007MSHAâs Assistant Secretary Richard Stickler revealed yesterday the agencyâs new procedures for determining whether a work-related death âis to be counted as a reportable death in MSHAâs official statistics.â In my post âCounting (or Not) of Workersâ Deaths,â I pushed Mr. Stickler to share the results of his review of MSHAâs fatality accounting system. After reading the new policy, Iâm having one of those âbe careful what you wish forâ reactions.
In a memorandum entitled âProcess for Determining Chargeability of Fatal Accidents,â Assistant Secretary Stickler provides a âFatal Injury…
sb admin | February 20, 2007The Washington Monthlyâs February issue features âShaftedâ by Ken Ward, Jr., an article critiquing the Bush Administrationâs mine safety policies. The Charleston Gazette reporter provides some interesting historical mine safety facts, such as the 1891 federal law prohibiting the employment of workers younger than age 12, and offers something new when he juxtaposes the Clinton-era versus Bush-era policies.Â
He writes:
â[Under Clinton, J. Davitt McAteer] ...ordered sweeping inspections that forced mine operators to repair faulty brakes on coal trucks, shore up the mine roofs, and address…
sb admin | February 12, 2007By Celeste MonfortonÂ
Last month, David Michaels wrote about a newly amended executive order from President Bush that gives the executive branch (through the Office of Management & Budget) more control over the work of federal agencies. This order seems designed to constrain the regulatory activities of federal agencies like EPA, FDA, and OSHA in fulfilling their Congressionally mandated duties â protecting us from hazards in our air, food, and workplaces. It places additional burdens on agencies attempting to issue new regulations or guidance, and it gives the OMB more authority over…
sb admin | February 9, 2007The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled today in favor of the United Steelworkers and MSHA in their efforts to protect underground miners from diesel particulate matter (DPM). The mining industry plaintiffs have claimed for years that MSHAâs 2001 DPM health standard was neither scientifically valid nor feasible, but the three-judge panel denied the firmsâ request to review MSHAâs rule. In a decision written by Judge David B. Sentelle, the court said âwe can find nothing in the administrative record that would justify second-guessing the agencyâs conclusions.â
The court ruling…
sb admin | January 21, 2007Mining companies opposed to a health standard to protect underground miners from diesel particulate matter (DPM) finally had their day in court. The morning proceeding featured remarks about tail-wagging dogs and coal-mine canaries, presented before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Industry attorneys urged the Court to vacate the exposure limits and other provisions of the Mine Safety and Health Administrationâs (MSHA) 2001 DPM rule. From my vantage point sitting on the public gallery benches, Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsberg, Senior Judge Harry T.…