Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 11, 1994                   TAG: 9404110015
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BECKLEY, W.VA.                                LENGTH: Medium

MINERS TALK ABOUT SAFETY AT SUMMIT

Bucks, union representatives and dozens of others discussed how to improve dangerous working conditions during the first Small Mine Summit sponsored by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Bucks said her husband, Scot Coal mines with fewer than 20 workers had fatality rates about six times higher than larger mines in 1992. Bucks, died in a small Wyoming County mine because he wasn't treated fast enough.

"The most experienced safety person on site was a foreman with a long-expired CPR card," she said Saturday at the one-day summit at the administration's National Mine Academy.

Coal mines with fewer than 20 workers had fatality rates about six times higher than larger mines in 1992, according to administration statistics. Those with fewer than 50, but more than 20 workers, had a rate four times more than larger mines.

Small mines often don't have the money to comply with federal and state safety laws, said Joseph Main, chief of the United Mine Workers health and safety department.

Main recommended surprise mine inspections because scheduled checks give operators a chance to prepare. He also wants to keep operators with a history of safety violations from getting new permits.

Joe Jacobs, a coal industry representative from Kentucky, warned that stiffer regulations could push some mines out of business.

"If you eliminate all the small operators in Eastern Kentucky, you better send a load of cheese over because we're going to need it," he said.

J. Davitt McAteer, assistant U.S. secretary of labor for mine safety and health, promised to issue a report within 30 days using recommendations from the summit.