Mine Safety: It’s Better Here

The Intelligencer

U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration officials announced this week that they will require installation of new communications equipment at underground mines throughout the nation.

Here in West Virginia, companies and miners won't have much trouble complying with the rule. Equipment similar to that stipulated by MSHA already is in use in our mines.

That is a tribute to state regulators, mining companies and miners themselves. It has made working in Mountain State mines safer, while miners in other states waited for MSHA to decide on what type of communications equipment to require.

After the terrible Sago Mine disaster in January 2006, state government moved quickly to identify what went wrong there. Then, state officials - working with coal operators and the United Mine Workers union - devised corrective measures. One of them was to require installation of equipment that makes communications between miners underground and those on the surface more reliable. In addition, technology to track miners' locations was mandated.

That came at a high price: Chris Hamilton of the West Virginia Coal Association estimated that it cost $100 million for operators to install the new equipment at most of our state's 273 underground mines.

Miners and their union often engage in spirited disagreements with coal companies. Often, they are about expensive safety equipment and procedures. But we have been exceedingly impressed during the nearly three years since the Sago disaster by the spirit of cooperation on safety.

We also have been very, very pleased by the emphasis placed on mine safety by state officials, from Gov. Joe Manchin on down.

What happened here probably has saved lives - and, almost undoubtedly, will do so in the future. That realization should make all involved in the ongoing mine safety campaign in West Virginia very happy with a job done well.

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