Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993 TAG: 9307010100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Jim Robinson said task force members agree that the state Division of Mines, with 22 inspectors overseeing more than 400 mines, needs to shift some work to federal inspectors while concentrating on training and targeting mines with poor safety records.
The task force will meet in Norton on July 8 to vote on each of 43 preliminary recommendations made by the 10 members and by an attorney representing families of victims of the Southmountain explosion.
At the last task force meeting in May, union and mine industry representatives clashed on proposals to either strip the Division of Mines of its inspection and enforcement powers or make those powers even stronger by allowing the agency to issue fines for violations.
Both proposals have been dropped because they had no chance of passing, said Robinson, a business executive and former state delegate. Robinson will make the recommendations in August to a joint legislative subcommittee examining Virginia's mining laws.
The Division of Mines and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration concluded that a miner carrying cigarettes ignited the Southmountain explosion with a butane lighter after gas reached combustible levels because the operators failed to properly ventilate the mine.
Because of inadequate methane examinations, company officials failed to detect the gas buildup. Miners also failed to adequately control coal dust in the air that increased the force of the blast, the reports said.
Several recommendations from the Southmountain task force would strengthen laws regarding methane detection and ventilation and increase the criminal penalties for violating mine safety laws.
by CNB