Mine Safety Story Archives - Page 8 of 9 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Black Lung Victims Hope New Regs Provide a Different Future for Young Miners

Landmark regulation by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration meant to lower the amount of dust in mines begins Friday. The first part is meant…

Landmark regulation by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration meant to lower the amount of dust in mines begins Friday. The first part is meant to fix the loopholes in the sampling process. Victims of black lung hope the new regulations give young workers a better future.

“I’m hoping that the new regulation will help people from getting black lung,” Gary Hairston of Beckley said before a black lung meeting in June. “Because I’m going to tell you what, when you can’t breathe and you can’t do the things that you used to do I’m telling you what it’s hard, especially men.”

Hairston says he worked in several mines throughout southern West Virginia with companies like Maben Energy, New River and Massey Energy.

For 27 years he worked underground, and says he enjoyed his job. Still he admits that he would take advantage of the loopholes in the dust sampling process after pressure from supervisors.

“I wish I would have had the samples come out the way they should have come out instead of trying to keep it from happening,” Hairston admitted.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is hoping to relieve that pressure supervisors can sometimes put on miners with new landmark regulations. The first phase requires operators to check every dust control system in the mine plan, immediately correct any issues, and record the findings.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for the MSHA Joe Main, said in an interview earlier this summer, this phase will help regulators get a clearer picture of the amount of dust miners are exposed to.

“It’s what they should be doing now in terms of the examination. This is going to hold them more accountable in terms of making sure that examinations are actually being done.”

Phase one is broken into twelve parts including updated certifications, de-certification system, expanding medical surveillance and more.

Like Gary Hairston, Robert Bailey was also a miner who felt pressured to bend the rules and says if he could back he would probably do things differently.

Bailey also has black lung after working thirty six years underground.

“I spent 30 years mostly in the face working,” he said. “That’s really too long for a miner to spend in the face area. They shouldn’t be exposed to dust for that long of period of time through their career because that’s what’s helped to put me at where I’m at now.”

A small puff sends oxygen into Bailey’s nose to help him stay alive. You might remember him. He’s in need of lung transplant and when he found, Patriot Coal’s insurance company, Underwriters Safety and Claims informed Bailey, the company was not approving the next medical appointment about his lungs, until hours after we reached out to insurance company.

Bailey hopes the new regulations help provide a better future for young miners.

“The main thing is that they put it to practice. Without the practice it would lead to no benefit,” he said.

New Black Lung Regs Take Effect

The first part of the landmark regulation meant to prevent black lung disease takes effect Friday. This phase is meant to fix regulatory loopholes in the…

The first part of the landmark regulation meant to prevent black lung disease takes effect Friday. This phase is meant to fix regulatory loopholes in the sampling process.

The first phase taking effect is broken into twelve parts including:

No more ‘average’ dust rates: Mines can be cited for a single MSHA sample shows excessive dust levels.Currently mines sample five shifts, takes the average and as long as it averaged below the standardized level, no action was changed.
Fix it now: Action must be taken when a full shift sample finds levels of dust in the air exceed limits.
Changing methods of citing overexposures and averaging samples obtained by operators: If mine operators fail to take corrective action for any sample that finds excessive levels of dust, or if two out of five operator samles, or three out of 15 operator samples, or the average of all samples finds excessive levels of dust, the mine will be cited.
“Normal production shift” redefined: Samples should be taken for the full shift. Miners shifts are not always eight hours.
Surface Mine Samples: Operators must begin to identify places to sample at surface mines. The sampling starts Oct. 1.
Training and Certification: Persons collecting samples must complete an MSHA course and pass the exam. Samplers, trainers can be decertified if training is inadequate.
Excessive Concentration Value (ECV): New concept to account for possible margin of error
Improved record keeping and accountability: On shift exams of specific dust controls must be made, recorded and signed by a mine official as well as shift length and production of the mine
More medical surveillance: X-rays available to surface miners while other tests are expanded for all miners
Include surface miners with black lung to be removed from areas of mine: Previously only underground miners with evidence of black lung could elect to work in less dusty atmospheres.
More sampling: Sampling of miners with black lung with increase

Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Mine Safety and Health Administration said in an interview earlier this summer, this phase will help regulators get a clearer picture of the amount of dust miners are exposed to.
“It’s what they should be doing now in terms of the examination,” Main said. “This is going to hold them accountable in terms of making sure that examinations are actually being done.”

Part of the first phase requires operators to check every dust control system in the mine plan, immediately correct any issues, and record the findings.

At the Upper Big Branch Disaster in 2010, 29 miners died after explosion ripped through a mine in Raleigh County. Reports found that sprayers meant to reduce dust levels and explosion hazards were clogged and not working properly.

Boone Co. Mine Where Two Killed Had Bad Safety Reputation, Practiced Dangerous Type of Mining

The Patriot Coal-owned Boone Co. mine where two men died Monday night had a historically bad record of safety violations and practiced a dangerous type of mining known as “retreat mining.”

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration handed down a Pattern of Violations designation to Brody No. 1 Mine in October 2013 after citing 253 serious violations during a review period. An MSHA audit of Brody Mining’s records found injuries of miners that the operator failed to report to the federal agency.

What is Retreat Mining?

Retreat mining is a method of leaving pillars to support the roof but since there is profitable coal left in those pillars, the operator pulls them causing an intentional collapse.

In a August 2007 article published in The Washington Post, former mine safety official and current attorney representing miners Tony Oppegard said retreat mining is one “the most dangerous type of mining there is.”

“All underground coal mining is inherently dangerous but retreat mining is ultrahazardous and operators have to comply religiously with every step of the pillar removal plan to protect the safety of their miners,” Oppegard told West Virginia Public Broadcasting Tuesday afternoon.

“Most of the time when there is an accident on a pillar section or retreat miner section it’s because there’s not been compliance with the plan or because the miners have not been trained (properly).”

Brody No. 1 Mine’s Pattern of Violation Designation

In a letter of notification dated October 24, 2013, MSHA District Manager David Mandeville notified Brody Mining’s safety manager of the Pattern of Violations designation. The new rules give MSHA more authority to immediately shut down the mine if another serious violation is issued.

At that time, Patriot said in a statement that the company did not deserve this status because some of the citations were inherited from the previous owner.

Patriot gained control of Brody Mining on December 31, 2012.

According to MSHA officials, the Brody No. 1 Mine has received 69 withdrawal (closure/shutdown) orders since the initial POV designation. The mine remains under that status.

The mine can be removed from POV status only when an inspection of the entire mine is completed and no Significant and Substantial (S&S) violations are found, or no withdrawal order is issued by MSHA within 90 days of the issuance of the pattern notice.

An online tool allows operators to monitor montly progress with POV status.

You can check the latest on the mine’s improvements on MSHA’s website.

Specific Types of MSHA Citations that Led to POV Designation

18 citations/orders related to “conditions and/or practices that contribute to ventilation and/or methane hazards”
20 citations/orders related to “conditions and/or practices that contribute to emergency preparedness and escapeway hazards”
9 citations/orders relating to “conditions and or practices that contribute to roof and rib hazards”
7 citations/orders related to “conditions or practices that contribute to inadequate examinations”

You can read the letter notifying the Brody No. 1 Mine of their POV status and see the citations and orders here:

Details of inspections, accidents, violations at the mine can be accessed through MSHA’s website by searching the Mine ID number: 4609086.

Audit: Mine Injury Underreporting Data Lacking

An audit says the Mine Safety and Health Administration needs to improve its data on underreporting of mining injuries and illnesses so that it can better…

An audit says the Mine Safety and Health Administration needs to improve its data on underreporting of mining injuries and illnesses so that it can better target enforcement efforts.

The audit by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General says the agency has taken steps to detect and deter underreporting of accidents and illnesses. But more can be done to address the problem.

The audit recommends that the agency derive better estimates of the overall occurrence, magnitude and distribution of underreporting. It also recommends providing guidance to mine operators on programs that could discourage miners from reporting injuries and illnesses.

In its response, the mine safety agency said it would consider sponsoring or participating in additional underreporting studies. It also is developing guidance for mine operators.

Nearly 200 Citations Issued During January Federal Mine Inspections

Federal impact inspections at U.S. mines in January resulted in 198 citations and 11 orders.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration conducted the inspections at 11 coal mines and three metal and nonmetal mines in Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

The agency said Thursday that Baylor Mining Inc. implemented a corrective action plan for its Beckley Crystal Mine in West Virginia and improved a ventilation plan following the operation’s first impact inspection. Baylor received seven citations for ventilation, electrical and health violations, along with four unwarranted failure orders and an order for failure to abate a hazardous condition in a timely manner.

The inspections began in 2010 after the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 29 coal miners.

Bill Advances Closing Loopholes in Coal Miner Drug Testing

In the Energy, Industry and Mining Committee Tuesday, Senators took up a bill meant to close loopholes in the drug testing system for mine workers in safety positions.

There is already a notification system in place for any worker who fails, refuses to submit to or attempts to falsify a drug test.

Notification is sent to the state Office of Miner’s Health Safety and Training which keeps a record and may block that person’s next attempt to obtain a mining job.

“There’s a couple of loopholes in the way the existing statute,” committee counsel Dorian Burrell explained. “Basically, if they were to test positive and then resign or if they were never actually hired after testing positive, that could escape the notice.”

Burrell added that could mean people with drug or alcohol abuse problems could move from mine to mine without being detected.

The bill, supported by the Office of Miner’s Health Safety and Training, the industry and the unions, passed through the committee and now heads to Senate Judiciary.