Miners Found Dead

The two West Virginia miners who have been in the news have been found decesased. via Fox

Comments

[afmomx3]

Americans MUST NOW STAND BEHIND THE GOVERNER OF WEST VIRGINIA !!!
We all as a people MUST NOT LET THESE MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR GREAT NATION DIE IN VAIN!!!
Changes in the coal industry MUST BE MADE to ensure the health and safety of those who work in the mines to make our lives a better place to live!
I stand with the Governor and say WE ALL MUST WRITE THESENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN ANDWOMEN to let them know that safety is the biggest issue for the mines. The COAL MINE COMPANIES MUST HAVE THE EQUIPMENT AAILABLE AND MUST BE IMPLEMENYED to prevent further fatalities in the coal mining industry.
respectfully and with great sympathy to the families involved in the last month,
afmomx3

[beel]

Well they were from a Democrat state.

http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/113792539264740.xml?birminghamnews?wire&coll=2

White House reverses scrapped mine-safety plan
New consideration for Clinton initiatives
Sunday, January 22, 2006
NANCY ZUCKERBROD
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is reviewing safety equipment used in the
nation's mines after previously scrapping similar initiatives begun by the Clinton
administration.

The agency that oversees coal mine safety is seeking public input on how to better supply
miners and rescuers with equipment such as breathing apparatus and communications
devices, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

In recent years, the Mine Safety and Health Administration pulled Clinton-era initiatives
examining safety equipment and mine rescue operations off its regulatory agenda, a
semiannual document that outlines what agencies are working on.

Key among the items withdrawn were those dealing with oxygen packs that
miners carry and the ability of mine rescue teams do their jobs.

Such issues will be re-examined, according to the documents, which noted
that the Sago Mine accident in West Virginia "underscored the vital role that
mine rescue operations play in response to catastrophic mine incidents."

Aborting safety rules:

In withdrawing the items during its first term, the Bush administration cited changing
priorities and resource concerns. Miners' advocates said the action stopped potentially
important safety rules from coming about.

Work was in progress to implement some of these protections," Joe Main,
who recently retired as the top safety expert at the United Mine Workers
union, said Saturday.

Main welcomed the new study but said it fell short. He said the agency should impose new
emergency rules that could go into effect quickly, and he said Congress ought to pass
legislation establishing new safety standards as it did following the 1968 mine explosion in
Farmington, W.Va., that killed 78 miners.

Study all you want," Main said. "That's good. That's healthy, but don't preclude action with study."

One of the items withdrawn called for a review of oxygen units miners are
required to wear or keep within 25 feet of their work area.

Main said the goal was to eliminate defects and improve inspections of the air packs and
ensure that the machines were actually providing the one hour's worth of air that is
required. The union also wanted extra units stored in the mines. The review will examine
those issues.

The Jan. 2 explosion at the Sago Mine in Tallmansville, W.Va., led to the deaths of 12
miners. Officials said one victim apparently was killed by the blast itself, and the others
were asphyxiated by carbon monoxide.

Insufficient oxygen:

Officials also said there was evidence most of the miners used their one-hour air packs, yet
the ordeal lasted more than 40 hours.

Jeffery Kravitz, a safety specialist at the Mine Safety and Health Administration who
coordinates the agency's rescue teams, said the federal government hasn't been ignoring the
issue.

Kravitz said the Labor Department agency, along with the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, has conducted numerous workshops to identify what
technologies might be available or developed to provide miners with longer-lasting oxygen
packs that are light enough to wear.

Another item the Clinton administration had been reviewing but which was withdrawn
during President Bush's first term involved the deployment of mine rescue teams.

Main said the administration was looking at ways to boost the number of teams available
and in proximity to the mines.

Mine operators rely on teams that are up to two hours away, which union officials say is too far.