When President Obama attends this Sunday's memorial service for the 29 miners killed at a coal mine in West Virginia, how to improve miner safety will doubtless be on his mind. When he returns to the Oval Office, he should get to work — by making sure mine-operators face criminal consequences when they unnecessarily risk miners' lives.
Last month's blast at the Massey Energy-owned coal mine in West Virginia was America's deadliest miner-safety lapse in 40 years. But it was hardly unexpected. Authorities believe that the explosion resulted from a build-up of methane gas and combustible materials, two dangerous conditions for which the mine's operator was repeatedly cited in prior government reports addressing the mine's safety shortcomings. In fact, last year, this particular mine alone received 515 safety citations — or 75% more than the national average for similar mines. Over the past 15 months, it had also been ordered temporarily closed 61 times out of concern for the immediate risks it posted to miners' lives.
Right now, the system to ensure miner safety is loophole-ridden, offering mine operators the ability to significantly delay paying fines and taking action. Most significantly? It leaves the relevant government agency — Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) — without meaningful criminal recourse.
After every mining disaster, outrage and calls for increased regulations promptly follow. In 1968, when another West Virginia mine accident killed 78, Congress passed the Coal Act, which required monetary penalties for safety violations. In 1977, after twin explosions killed 26 miners in Kentucky, an again aghast Congress passed the Mine Act, creating the MSHA to oversee miner safety. And in 2006, after 12 died in West Virginia's Sago mine, Congress passed the MINER Act, requiring the creation of mine-specific emergency response plans in underground coal mines. But none of these acts were enough to save lives in this most recent tragedy.
Let's seize this moment to break the cycle. The MSHA should be living up to its name, protecting miners' safety and health from repeat offenders like Massey Energy. The window of opportunity is now. The ball is in Congress' court.
Photo Credit: ˙Cаvin 〄
At his Labor Day anti-union rally last year, Massey CEO Don Blankenship attacked the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), claiming it "seeks power over coal miners." He mocked both "Washington politicians" and local elected officials who attempt to ensure miner safety, calling their efforts "as silly as global warming:
Posted via web from Firesaw
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