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Senator Byrd on Thursday said the tragic deaths of two more West Virginia coal miners on Wednesday prove that any delay in approving the West Virginia Congressional Delegation’s mine safety bill puts miners’ lives at risk.
“A total of 16 coal miners have died this year in West Virginia, and the year is only 33 days old. This situation is intolerable. These mine tragedies are going to continue to happen, again and again, unless new and dramatic action is taken by the federal government to curb mine hazards,” Byrd said.
Byrd spoke on the Senate floor following the deaths of two Boone County coal miners Wednesday, one at Long Branch Energy’s #18 Tunnel Mine and one at Black Castle Surface Mine.
“The danger to our miners is very real. Too many needs, from emergency communications and breathing equipment, to a rapid notification and response system, to penalizing the reckless disregard of federal safety standards, are not being addressed by the Department of Labor and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and require swift action by the Congress. The longer we wait to act, the more likely another fatality will occur,” the Senator stated.
Byrd commended Governor Joe Manchin, D.-W.Va., for asking coal operators in West Virginia to cease production immediately and review safety procedures. The Senator echoed the Governor’s call for expedited inspections of the state’s mines and the request that the federal Labor Department send additional inspectors and personnel to the state.
Byrd applauded MSHA’s announcement Wednesday that it would expand the “Mine Safety Stand Down” to mines across the nation on Monday, February 6, but questioned how much good one hour training sessions would do.
“Shutting down mines for one hour is not a serious solution. It may be a time out for safety, but it is not time enough for meaningful safety,” Byrd said.
Byrd urged Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn, to immediately schedule time for the Senate to take up the mine safety legislation introduced by the West Virginia Delegation Wednesday.
The legislation focuses on several areas, including:
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Rapid Notification and Response -- require MSHA to establish a rapid notification and response system, and require coal operators to expeditiously notify MSHA of emergencies, or subject themselves to a $100,000 fine. It took 11 hours before the rescue operation at Sago entered the mine;
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Emergency Communications and Breathing Equipment -- require coal operators to store additional emergency breathing caches underground, and require emergency communications equipment for surface rescue efforts to locate and communicate with miners underground. The Sago miners had only one hour of oxygen to last through a forty-hour rescue operation, and that no communication was possible with the trapped miners at both Sago and Alma;
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Penalties -- create a new mandatory minimum penalty of $10,000 for coal operators that show “negligence or reckless disregard” for the safety standards of the Mine Act. Sago had 276 safety violations, and paid fines as low as $99 for “significant and substantial” violations;
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Belt Entries -- nullify an MSHA rule issued in 2004 that authorizes the use of belt entries for ventilation, which may have caused the Alma fire;
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Technology -- create a science and technology transfer office in MSHA to pull research and development ideas from other federal agencies for use in the mines; and
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Miner Ombudsman -- create an ombudsman in the Department of Labor ’s Inspector General office for miners to report safety violations.
“The bill that the West Virginia Delegation crafted will help to protect the lives of miners. It will help to keep West Virginia mines open, and to keep its coal fueling the energy demands of our national economy. We must act quickly. We must ensure the safety of our miners in order to ensure the security of the nation,” Byrd said. ### |
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