Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 26, 1993 TAG: 9305260266
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS and DOUGLAS PARDUE STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It will be the first time that a mine disaster investigation report will be the focus of a congressional oversight committee hearing.
The main reason is that Rep. Austin Murphy, D-Pa., the new chairman of the Education and Labor subcommittee on labor standards and occupational health and Safety, is from a coal-mining region.
"He certainly intends to give mine safety its due," said Jim Riley, the subcommittee's chief counsel.
Murphy is the only member of the subcommittee from a coal district, and he plans to make sure that the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, the agency that enforces coal mine safety, has some "emphasis on it," Riley said.
In the past, MSHA officials have complained that the mine safety agency has taken a back seat to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates safety and health in workplaces other than mining.
"Sometimes they didn't focus on us," said Tom Brown, an MSHA spokesman.
He said the mine safety agency is looking forward to the unusual attention. "It should be exciting," he said.
Director Edward C. Hugler is to present to the committee the agency's report on the Southmountain Coal Mine No. 3 explosion. The methane gas explosion at the small nonunion Wise County mine killed eight miners. It was Virginia's worst mine disaster in more then 30 years.
The report's findings were being kept secret, but the report is expected to mirror a Virginia Division of Mines investigation released this month. Both agencies cooperated in the investigation, and the state reportedly was provided a draft copy of the federal report.
The state report blamed the disaster on a massive buildup of explosive methane caused by willful violations of mining and air-ventilation plans. The spark that caused the explosion was blamed on a miner who lit a butane cigarette lighter. Three of the dead miners were found to have smoking material on or around their bodies.
Families of the dead miners and officials of the United Mine Workers of America have complained that state and federal investigators put too much blame on the miners for smoking. They say the real villain was the mining company that pushed production and illegal mining practices. The families and union members also blame federal and state inspectors for not keeping closer tabs on small, nonunion mines.
Joe Main, the union's top safety official, said small mines have the worst safety records and should be inspected much more often. Typically, he said, miners at small mines have no one to protect them other than inspectors. And the miners often don't complain about safety violations for fear of losing their jobs. "Their destiny is controlled by coal operators if they speak up to save their own lives."
Main said the union wants Congress to make mine operators more accountable by requiring better documentation of who owns and operates mines. In the case of Southmountain, Main said, the real owner and operator of the mine, Jack Davis of Coeburn, never was questioned by state or federal investigators.
Regulations should be changed so that coal mine operators can't "disguise who the real owners are," Main said. "Those who mine the coal and make a profit must be held accountable."
Main said the union also wants to see the investigative process cleaned up so that miners aren't afraid to tell the truth. The union and families of the dead miners complained that formal questioning of Southmountain miners was done in an intimidating environment because representatives of the company were allowed to sit in.
Joe Wise, a spokesman for Murphy, said the congressman - whose son was injured in a coal mine accident 10 years ago - wants to see what MSHA can do to improve coal mine safety.
"This isn't to put a spotlight on MSHA, it's to put a spotlight on coal mine safety."
by CNB