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Two More Mine Deaths. Congress on Vacation Without Boosting Mine Safety |
Two more West Virginia coal miners were killed on the job April 7, bringing the year’s coal mine death toll to 23 nationwide, compared with 19 in all of 2005.
The same day the miners died, Congress left town for a two-week vacation without acting on new mine safety legislation introduced in Feb. 1 when the Sago Mine disaster that killed 12, and other mine deaths, were fresh in the headlines.
Mine safety is a top agenda item for the Mine Workers convention that gets under way today in Las Vegas with more 500 UMWA members on hand.
UMWA President Cecil Roberts says state and federal lawmakers and the Bush administration must stop their foot-dragging on new mine safety measures.
More miners have been killed on the job this year than in all of 2005. Indeed, today’s deaths are the 44th and 45th in the United States since Feb. 1, 2005. We are seeing a dramatic increase in fatalities in the nation’s mines, and the UMWA continues to call on Congress, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the various state mining regulatory agencies to act—and act now—to strengthen the laws, regulations and oversight of America’s coal mines.
In the latest accidents, Robert Runyon, 48, of Belfry, Ky., was killed in a roof fall at Jacob Mining LLC’s No. 1 Mine in Naugatuck. Rock-and-roof support materials fell on the locomotive Runyon was operating, according to news reports. MSHA records show that the nonunion mine received 14 citations since February, including one involving guards on mechanical equipment that protects workers.
In Wharton, W.Va., a miner was killed at the Mystic LLC’s Candice No. 2 Mine while working on or around a continuous mining machine, which digs coal from the face and moves it to a conveyer belt. The miner’s identity has not been disclosed.
The UMWA-represented Mystic Mine has received one citation from MSHA this year.
Meanwhile in Congress, new mine safety legislation (S. 2231 and H.R. 4695) has stalled as Republican leaders in both the House and Senate have refused to schedule the bills for a vote. (In an April 1 post, Jordan Barab at Confined Space gives a run down of MSHA and congressional action or inaction.)
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[...] Two more miners died in a West Virginia accident last week, but the Do Nothing Congress still hasn’t acted on new mine safety legislation introduced on Feb. 1 after the Sago mine disaster. [...]