Coal Mine Disaster No Accident

(CNN) -- As family members waited for word on the fate of the 13 West Virginia miners trapped in the Sago Mine, they looked up to God and north to Pennsylvania's Quecreek Mine. Both gave them hope.

"Whatever did God do for us?"

Anger over false news of US miners' survival It was a mistake, families told, after hailing news of miners' survival

A Disaster in the Making

There are no such things as accidents in coal mining. Never have been never will be. Accidents, acts of god, do not occur in coal mines. What happens is that the company fails to provide for the safety of its workers, by cutting corners. Lack of safety precautions or inspections, lack of follow up, poor mining practices, these are the causes of miners deaths.

This is what happened in Canada's worst coal mine explosions such as Hillcrest in Alberta, Springhill in Nova Scotia and the recent disaster at Westray in Nova Scotia.

As we move towards increasing reliance on coal due to energy shortages, and the need for coal for power plants such as those in Ontario will mean the opening of more mines reviving old mines, and in some cases strip mining. Underground mining of coal is by far the most dangerous. It is why we associate the canary with coal mining because of the methane gases given off by coal.

Increased production of coal will mean more speed ups in the mines, ignoring safety regulations and inspections, more fast buck risks taken by the investors for quick profits and thus higher risks for the workers who mine King Coal.

This is what occured this week in West Virginia. Sago mine was plagued with problems that inspectors found and the company failed to resolve. Which of these was the cause of this weeks explosion and disaster will be discovered soon enough but the companies record of violations and roof falls, only show that this was no'accident' but a disaster that was waiting to happen sooner or later.

The International Coal Group was formed in 2004, when business entrepreneur Wilbur Ross Jr. led a group that bought many of the assets of Horizon Natural Resources in a bankruptcy auction.

Last year, ICG bought Anker, which previously owned Sago. The company has mining operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland and owned or controlled approximately 707 million tons of coal as of Jan. 1, 2005.

The Sago Mine was cited 208 times over alleged safety violations in 2005, up from just 68 citations the year before, The Associated Press reported. Federal regulators' allegations against the Sago Mine included failure to dilute coal dust, which can lead to explosions, and failure to properly operate and maintain machinery, according to the AP report.

Sago Has A History of Safety Violations

In 2005, the government proposed fines for Anker, the company that operates the Sago Mine, that total almost $25,000 for violations; the company has paid a little more than $14,000 (so far).

Only a few weeks ago, the feds cited the company for a number of violations, but inspectors did not propose any fines. According to the MSHA chart, the most recent Sago Mine violations have not yet been assessed. (Click on the "Standard" column to see the specific violation for each item listed.)

Among the December 2005 inspector findings were fire-extinguisher violations and violations for surface (above-ground) travelways such as railways. There were three violations issued just since Dec. 18, 2005 regarding a "roof control plan."

The mine was also cited less than a month ago for allowing coal dust to accumulate. Last month, the mine was cited (not fined) for not having proper atmospheric monitoring systems.

In November, inspectors did propose fines for inadequate mine ventilation and inadequate roof bolts.

MSHA has been updating information on the West Virginia mine on its Web site.

---

History of Accidents

Many of the accidents include unintentional roof falls. The Charleston Gazette explored the roof-fall angle under the notion that the series of recent minor roof falls may have been an indication that the mine needed to fix roofing problems. The paper said: Three of the roof falls occurred after International Coal Group finalized its purchase of the Anker operation in mid-November.

Mining Accident Raises Broader Safety Questions

The mining disaster at West Virginia's Sago Mine has raised new questions about safety in an industry that has long been among the most dangerous in America.

Tougher government regulation and technology improvements have helped reduce mining accidents over the past two decades. But at a time of increased mining demand and a shortage of skilled workers, safety problems have continued to dog the industry, contributing to more than 300 fatalities since the year 2000.

Tags
labour
mining
USA
coal
disasters
UMWA