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The Urgency of Mine Safety
In the first 32 days of 2006, the Mountain State suffered as 16 coal miners have died -- first in Upshur County, then in Logan County, and now in Boone County. Miners and their families throughout the state are wondering where the next explosion will occur, what will spark the next fire, and will it be at their mine.
We are facing a safety crisis. The time for talk is over. We’ve got to take steps now to protect lives.
The West Virginia Congressional Delegation has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives and the Senate that has one simple aim: the prevention of future fatal mine tragedies. As a united Delegation, we share the strong belief that coal miners deserve the best protections and the best safety enforcement possible. The longer we wait to make positive changes in mine safety, the more risk coal miners face on the job. We have a moral obligation to get this done.
The West Virginia Delegation’s federal mine safety package focuses on several areas, including rapid notification and response, tougher penalties for safety violations, emergency communications and breathing equipment, and expanded use of advanced safety technologies.
The tragedies at the Sago and Alma mines highlighted gross weaknesses in mine emergency preparedness, and the failure of leadership at the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to get tough about rescue procedures and safety initiatives. The status quo is not good enough; the status quo is putting lives at risk. If the federal agency will not take steps on its own, then the Congress must take the lead and, if need be, poke, prod, and push MSHA into fulfilling its mandate.
We need more than platitudes to protect the safety of our nation’s miners. We need resources. We need swift action. We need to impress deeply upon the psyche of MSHA and of the nation’s coal mine operators that the safety of miners will not be compromised for personal profit or politics. Protecting the safety of our miners is a moral responsibility, and I, for one, will never, ever, forget that obligation.
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