From June 21: New Mine Safety Bill Would Give Workers Major New Protections

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/06/21/new-mine-safety-bill-would-give-workers-major-new-protections/

by Mike Hall, Jun 21, 2007

New mine safety legislation would improve emergency response plans, greatly strengthen federal enforcement of safety and health rules and reduce coal miners’ exposure to black lung-causing coal dust. Mine Workers (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts says the legislation, introduced in the U.S. House and Senate on June 19, is much more than just another step in the right direction—it answers most, if not all, of the safety and health needs of miners.


Family members of coal miners killed in the Sago explosion testify at a 2006 mine safety hearing.

Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.), Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) introduced the legislation in the House, and Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in the Senate.

The comprehensive mine safety package follows last year’s MINER Act, a bill safety advocates consider a first step in improving coal mine safety and emergency response and practices. The bill passed as coal miners were being killed at a record rate that eventually claimed the lives of 47 coal miners in 2006—including 12 following a methane blast at the Sago Mine in West Virginia and five in an explosion at a Darby, Ky., mine. The year’s death toll was the highest in a decade. Says Rahall:

The mine tragedies of last year are the result of a government and a nation that let down its guard. That should never have happened. The provisions in this new legislative package build upon the solid groundwork provided by the MINER Act and could result in life-saving advances for years to come.

The bill’s requirements include:

* A more rapid deployment of proven safety technologies, including underground communications systems and refuge chambers where miners could escape poisonous smoke and gases.

* A ban on the practice of using conveyor belt openings to ventilate mines (belt air).

* Requiring employers to provide miners with multigas detectors any time they work alone.

* Increasing the enforcement powers of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), including giving the agency subpoena powers that other agencies have.

* Increasing the penalties against mine operators who have a pattern of safety violations or who retaliate against miners who report safety and health violations.

* Reducing miners’ exposure to coal dust by requiring them to wear personal monitors and cutting the permissible coal dust exposure levels.

FULL story at link.