Miners' safety

A tunnel collapsed in a Utah coal mine after an intensity 4.0 earthquake last Monday morning (August 6), trapping six miners.

Rescuers are having difficulty getting to them because of the volume of debris, and the miners may remain underground for another three days. It is hoped they will last that long.

In the summer of 2006, after the West Virginia Sago coal mine collapse where 12 miners died, Congress enacted regulations to improve safety in coal mines. These included sizable fines for violations of mining rules and required that more stocks of oxygen should be stored underground to provide for trapped miners.

It is not certain if these safety rules have been followed in the Utah coal mine. Over the past three and a half years, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors have cited the mine in 325 instances of violating safety rules, and 116 of these were of a nature that could cause injury or illness to miners. The 33 citations issued so far this year, included citations for lack of escape ways, rescue teams, and warning devices.

However, a former head of the MSHA and other experts said it was not unusual for a mine to receive 325 citations; though not perfect, this did not mean it was that bad. A university professor familiar with mining accidents noted that if put in perspective vis-à-vis other mines, there was nothing unusual about Utah mine’s number of citations; this was fairly average.

The volume of rubble appears to be the result of a cave-in, which could be due to an earthquake, an explosion, or a fire. Seismograph stations recorded signs of the earthquake around the mine area last Monday morning, but it was still not clear if the tremor caused the tunnel collapse.

The mining company reportedly uses “retreat mining” methods. It involves using coal pillars to support the roof in a mine area. Once mining is completed in that area, the pillars are removed and that area is then intentionally collapsed. The technique is labeled by experts as among the most dangerous of mining methods.