MSHA chief update: Senate panel set to vote next week
by Ken Ward Jr.
Coal Tattoo
October 1, 2009
The U.S. Senate’sCommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions announced today that it expects to take a vote next week on the nomination of Joe Main to serve as President Obama’s assistant secretary of labor in charge of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Interestingly, theHELP Committee meeting is listed as an “Executive Session,” as opposed to a confirmation hearing. The committee has decided not to hold any sort of confirmation hearing. Main won’t be making a statement, and senators won’t be asking him any questions about how he plans to run the agency in charge of protecting the safety and health of the nation’s coal miners.
Main is the retired longtime director of the United Mine Workers of America’s health and safety department. More background inthis previous post. Thanks to Ellen Smith ofMine Safety and Health News, who pointed the Senate meeting notice out to me.
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Pa. mine owner, foreman enter pleas in fatal blast
Associated Press
October 2, 2009
POTTSVILLE, Pa. - The owner and foreman of an eastern Pennsylvania coal mine have entered pleas to five charges stemming from a 2006 explosion that killed a man.
Fifty-three-year-old David Zimmerman and 34-year-old Steven Zimmerman of Pine Grove both pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and guilty to recklessly endangering another person and three violations of the Anthracite Coal Mining Act.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Glenn Parno said the case represents the first successful manslaughter prosecution in a mining death in the commonwealth. A state grand jury last year accused the Zimmermans of being responsible for dangerous conditions in the anthracite mine where 43-year-old Dale Reightler of Donaldson died in a methane blast on Oct. 23, 2006.
Forty-three-year-old Jeffrey Klinger was placed on probation after pleading guilty last month to blasting without a mining certificate and storing explosives or detonators in the direct line of blasting.
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Two miners, one of them an adolescent, were killed and another seriously injured when a manganese mine caved in Saturday in Naioni subdistrict, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara province.
Those killed were identified as 43-year-old Simon Linsini and 12-year-old Etri Linsini, both from the same family. Another miner, 14-year-old Defrid Amnesi, escaped with serious injuries.
"We were about 5 meters from the mouth of the tunnel,” Defrid said.
“Suddenly the tunnel started to collapse and we were all hit by falling rocks and earth.
"I lost consciousness for a while. When I woke up, I was half buried in rocks and dirt."
Defrid and the two dead miners were pulled out of the cave-in by a rescue team and local residents.
Local police concluded the cave-in was an accident.
Mining manganese is a popular job in the neighborhood.
A neighborhood unit chief in Naioni, Urbanus Penu, said that particular mine had been in operation for years without incident.
"Many of the residents here mine for a living,” he said.
“They mine up to 2 tons of manganese a day, which they then sell to middlemen."
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Today marks centennial of 1909 Roslyn mine disaster
Daily Record – Washington, USA October 3, 2009
ROSLYN — As the wife of a miner at the Northwestern Improvement Company’s No. 4 mine in Roslyn, Mary Arundell took comfort in the fact that her husband, William, worked above ground.
If she needed that solace, there was reason.
Mary Arundell was familiar with the personal loss mining brought to many families in the Roslyn area.
In 1892, her uncle was one of 45 miners killed in an explosion at the No. 1 mine.
Two years later, in 1894, the same year that she married, her 14-year-old brother also died in a mine accident.
As fate would have it, even working above ground would not save Mary’s husband.
Roslyn’s David Browitt, an attorney whose family roots also extend deep into the area’s mining history, tells the story of what happened 100 years ago today.
It was Sunday, Oct. 3, 1909, a day of rest for most in Roslyn. Not so for the men who headed to the No. 4 mine for maintenance work. Unlike slope mines where the shaft runs down at an angle, the No. 4 had a vertical shaft. A hoist was used to bring men — and coal — up and down the shaft.
John X. Jones was the hoist man that day.
His son, John E. Jones, 21, was the pump man, charged with keeping the pump running to remove water seeping into the mine.
Browitt says the elder Jones had just lowered his son down the shaft before the moment when the No. 4 mine would go down in history. According to reports, at 12:45 p.m. the ground beneath the town of Roslyn shook and a fireball shot up in the air.
Hot ashes floated over the town, drifting on to rooftops.
John X. Jones, badly burned but alive and destined to survive, crawled to where he could activate the steam whistle, sounding the alarm. In a way, Browitt says, that action was superfluous. The community already knew that a disaster had occurred.
“The concussion was tremendous,” Browitt says. “There were claims windows were broken half a mile away. This was a mining community. For those people, there was no question what had happened.”
Community members rushed toward the mine. So did the Roslyn Volunteer Fire Department, pulling hose carts.
Credit Chief Andy Attleson for “keeping a cool head,” Browitt says. Attleson directed some of the men to stay up in town while the rest were battling the fire at the mine.
“There were reports there were more than 20 roof fires,” Browitt says. “The people in town were battling roof fires with bucket brigades and garden hoses. The potential for a much greater disaster was there if those fires had gotten going on the roofs.”
By 4 p.m., all the wood structures at the mine were gone. The powerhouse, constructed of brick, remained.
The rubble would smolder for days.
At the time of the explosion, five men had been working below the ground and five, plus the hoist man, had been working above.
Rescuers found three of the men who had been working above ground. James Gurrell died almost immediately. Otis Newhouse and William Arundell, Mary’s husband, lived until about 4 p.m. and then died at Miners Hospital in Cle Elum. The remains of the two others working on top — Carl Berger and Aaron Isaacson — never were found. They’re believed to have fallen down the shaft and been consumed by the flames.
But what of the five who were below?
It took several days to get into where they were thought to be, accessing the area through the No. 1 Mine slope.
At that point in time, the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition was running in Seattle and among the things being demonstrated at the exposition’s mine building were Draeger Rescue Helmets, at the time state-of-the-art helmets that had their own oxygen supply.
“So they sent for the helmets,” Browitt says. “They were the newest thing. But the guys that brought them over didn’t know to operate them. So somebody finally arrived that could use them.”
In those days, he said, the mules that pulled the coal cars stayed in mule barns in the mines.
On Oct. 7 rescuers discovered one dead mule and eight live ones. “And when they got to the mule barn they heard a cat mewing,” Browitt says. “Apparently, it was a mine mascot. It never left the mine.”
They brought it out. Photographs were taken of the cat, which survived the explosion.
The discovery that animals had survived the disaster re-ignited hope. Rescuers moved on. They’d gotten to the animals without using Draeger helmets but later that day, they had to wear the helmets when they discovered the body of John E. Jones, apparently unburned, Browitt says, in an area “filled with bad air and gas.”
Hope faded.
The next evening, searchers found the bodies of Philip Pozarich and George Tomatich. But two men — Daniel Hardy and Dominick Bartolero — still were missing. “There was a huge amount of debris at the bottom of the shaft,” Browitt says. “That’s where they determined these guys were.” It would be six months before their bodies were recovered.
In the meantime, the men who worked at the No. 4 were absorbed into other Northwestern Improvement Company mines in the area.
Initially, the mining company began rebuilding the mine, cleaning the debris, lining the shaft with concrete to stabilize, replacing what had been wood with metal.
But in the end, it never operated again.
Browitt theorizes that a fall off in demand for coal made it obvious there was no need to put it back into operation.
In human impact, Browitt says, there were 9 widows, 21 orphans and at least six adult children of the people who died that day.
But the disaster could have been much worse. Had it happened on a regular work day, between 400 and 450 men could have been on-site and the loss of life could have been dramatically greater.
As for Mary Arundell, she never remarried.
The mining company gave her a small monthly stipend. To make ends meet, she moved her family into a larger home, began taking in boarders and cooked for social functions.
Her son, also named William Arundell and just 9 when his father died, immediately began doing odd jobs to help support the family.
Mary Arundell’s heartbreak was not over.
In 1922, William, then 22, died in a mining accident.
Over the years, Browitt says, numerous stories have been told about that day in 1909. Among them: one story he heard about a man who claimed to have been saved by the bottle.
“There was a man, now deceased, whose father was a known drunk in the town,” Browitt says. “He told me his father was supposed to go to work at the mine that day. But his father was too hung over to go to work. His father said drinking saved his life so he never did give up drinking.
“He died in Roslyn more than 50 years after that explosion.”
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Some men are just born to suffer bad luck. That's how The Pittsburgh Press described mine superintendent Fred C. Keighley on its editorial page.
"This man has been connected ... with three serious mine explosions within the last few years," the newspaper noted on Jan. 30, 1891. "It does not appear that the disasters have occurred through any fault of his, but he has been unfortunate enough to be in charge ..."
The third and most horrific of those calamities took place Jan. 27, 1891, at Henry Clay Frick's Mammoth Mine in Westmoreland County.
"Over 100 miners killed," the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette reported the next day. "Not a Man Is Left Who Can Tell the Cause of the Sudden, Terrific Explosion." The disaster happened around 9 a.m. near Youngwood.
The suspected cause was "fire-damp," the 19th-century name for the mixture of methane and other flammable gases that added to the danger of bituminous coal mining. The pocket of gas apparently had been ignited by a worker's oil lamp. Miners who were not burned to death in the explosion were suffocated by the "after damp," a deadly mix of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. "Miners, Mules and Cars Packed into a Clotted Mass," a headline in the Jan. 28 edition of the Gazette said.
Once the initial fire had been extinguished, about 60 bodies were brought out. Then a new blaze began and rescue efforts had to be halted for several hours.
By noon the next day, 106 bodies had been removed from the mine. The discovery of a final victim raised the death toll to 107.
Many of the dead miners were buried on Jan. 28 in St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Scottdale. A crowd of about 5,000 gathered in the rain for the evening graveside service, according to the Gazette.
"This was undoubtedly the saddest day that Scottdale, as well as the entire coke region, has ever witnessed," the Gazette reported on Jan. 29, the day after the mass burial.
Pine coffins arrived by train and were loaded onto 15 horse-drawn wagons. "Three coffins were placed on each wagon," The Pittsburgh Press reported Jan. 29. "It required all the strength of two horses to get a team through the roads, which already covered for several inches with mud, were made muddier still by a fine, drizzling rain which started to fall about 4 o'clock. The passage from the train to the cemetery was a battle between muscle and mud."
"When the first coffins reached the burying ground[,] the men were still at work with pick and shovel." Workers had dug two parallel trenches, each about 150 feet long.
Coffins were placed in rows on wooden boards next to the hastily prepared burial sites. "At the head of the graves the Rev. Father A.M. Lambing took his position ... The coffins were placed close to each other. Their headboards, containing the name [of the man in] the box, were stuck into the ground. The early winter night closed in with 100 men at work burying their fellow employees."
One, and possibly two, of the victims brought to Scottdale, was fated not to rest in peace. The body of "Billy Buchell, No. 26" was sent on to Latrobe for burial there. Another of the "coffins may be removed as the remains are said to be those of a Protestant," the Press reported. "This was discovered at a late hour."
The Mammoth Mine disaster happened seven months after a similar explosion killed 31 workers at the Hill Farm Mine near Dunbar, Fayette County. "The Dunbar disaster has been repeated and overshadowed," the Gazette said.
The year 1891 was a terrible time to be a coal miner in Pennsylvania. Of the 956 workers who died in coal mining accidents that year, more than two-thirds were killed in this state, according to U.S. Department of the Interior statistics.
Things got even worse over the next 15 years, with 1907 ultimately becoming the deadliest year in U.S. mining history. There were 3,242 deaths that year. Almost half -- 1,507 -- happened in Pennsylvania's hard- and soft-coal mines, according to a 1916 government reported compiled by Albert H. Fay.
Whatever bad luck accompanied Keighley, he did survive both the Mammoth explosion and threats by surviving workers, "rendered insane by grief," to hang him. It was to the credit of the "men in the coke region ... that they were dissuaded from their cowardly design," the Press opined. "There are enough horrors already ... without adding murder to the list."
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Clubs have purposes. Some teach sports, some talk about politics, some talk about religion. Perhaps one of the most practical clubs is one that regularly practices saving lives. If a mine was to collapse somewhere around Golden, some of the first people called out will be the CSM Mine Rescue Team. Setting up communications, being security guards, fixing gear, and many other tasks would be distributed to this team in their efforts to save trapped miners.
“It's kind of like a volunteer firefighter service, except on a student level,” compared Collin Smith, the Captain of the Mine Rescue Team. Training both in theory and application, the team meets twice a week. Tuesdays are to study the manual and Saturdays are for actual practice in the Edgar Mine. Education is the key, as Smith emphasized, “The point is to go beyond the normal education to get some industry experience as well as learn the ins and outs of the mine rescue situation.” The constant practice also “keeps them sharp for real life situations,” said Smith.
A lot of the training is for the upcoming competition at our rival school, Missouri University of Science and Technology. “It's where teams show off what they're made of,” said Smith. Since the government requires professional teams to compete in at least two competitions a year, the attendance is always substantial and gives the students a chance to see what real teams are like. “We like to hang out with the industry guys since we compete alongside them in contests,” said Smith. The contests are composed of two parts: a test on the manual and a field test where they run a simulated problem. The team is quite excited for the competition, especially since it is the only underground mine rescue competition.
Although no one wants to think about the need for rescue operations, Smith acknowledges, “It's still a prevalent part of the industry as a whole... If we go on to our careers as engineers, it's something... we will have to deal with.” The 10-member team always remembers that what they are doing matters. “We're here to have some fun, naturally,” said Smith, "but that does not detract from the actual value of this club." Although only 7 people are needed for an official college team, the CSM Mine Rescue Team always accepts more members since there can never be too many people in a rescue situation. If anyone would like to become involved in a club that saves lives, contact Collin Smith (cosmith@... This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or the Mining Department for more information on the CSM Mine Rescue Team.
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1 miner killed, 5 injured in 2 accidents in Poland
The Associated Press October 5, 2009
(AP) — WARSAW, Poland - Authorities say one miner has been killed and five have been injured in two accidents in Poland.
Regional Mining Office spokesman Krzysztof Krol said Monday that a 43-year-old miner died when scaffolding he was dismantling hit him 850 meters (2,800 feet) below ground in the Makoszowy mine in the southern city of Zabrze.
In a separate incident Monday five miners suffered various injuries when a sudden tremor trapped them 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) underground at the Bielszowice mine in Ruda Slaska.
Local mining company spokesman Zbigniew Madej said all five remain hospitalized.
The accidents come on the heels of a methane explosion Sept. 18 at Wujek-Slask mine that killed 20 miners.
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China boosts coal imports following improved mining safety
United Press International, Asia October 5, 2009
BEIJING, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- China is making efforts to improve coal-mining safety, which is forcing the country to boost imports.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday that more than 250,000 China miners have died in coalmine accidents since 1949. Shanxi province has produced far more coal and suffered more coalmining deaths than anywhere else in China. The issue of mining safety is a sensitive one with the Chinese government; the country's worst mining accident occurred in 1960 when 682 people died, with the incident classified as a state secret and not revealed until 28 years later. In the past 10 years the Chinese government has repeatedly launched mine-safety campaigns, but their effectiveness has been diminished by corruption and cronyism.
In the wake of another mining accident in Shanxi province last year, provincial governor Meng Xuelong was fired and replaced with Wang Jun, then director of the State Administration of Work Safety. Wang reordered the province's priorities reducing mine deaths but also cut Shanxi's coal production and impacted its economy.
Shanxi's coal shortfall offered an opportunity for Australian coal exporters for the first time in history, reflected in export statistics. For the period January-July, Australia's coal exports to China reached 8.8 million tons, up 986 percent from the same period in 2008.
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From: USMRA <usmra@...> To: minerescue@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wed, 23 September, 2009 10:49:08 PM Subject: [USMRA] At least 15 dead in India power plant accident
At least 15 dead in India power plant accident
Reuters
September 23, 2009
RAIPUR, India, Sept 23 (Reuters) - At least 15 workers were killed and some 50 feared trapped when a chimney under construction at a power plant in central India collapsed, police said on Wednesday.
The power plant belongs to Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (Balco), in which Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd (STRL.BO), part of mining group Vedanta (VED.L), holds 51 percent.
Around 100 workers and engineers were working on the construction of the chimney at Balco Nagar, several hours drive from Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh state.
"It's a massive accident," Ratanlal Dangi, district superintendent of police, told Reuters by phone.
"We have launched a rescue and relief operation to save about 50 workers and engineers trapped inside."
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CHARLESTON,W.Va. — The operators of 10 U.S. mines, including the largest private-sector coal company in the world, have been warned they must improve health and safety conditions or face stricter enforcement and penalties, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday.
Half the mines are in West Virginia, the nation's second-largest coal producer. One is a lead and zinc mine in Missouri and the rest are coal operations in Kentucky, Indiana and Virginia.
Inspectors found high levels of violations that could cause serious injuries or illnesses at each of the operations, MSHA said. For instance, Massey Energy Co.'s Tiller No. 1 underground mine in Virginia received citations for serious violations at 222 percent of the national average, according to MSHA.
The agency hopes the notification will encourage the operators to make improvements, MSHA deputy director Gregory Wagner said in a statement. MSHA didn't identify specific violations in the letters, giving only numbers and rates of violations.
MSHA has issued similar warnings four times since June 2007. Operators have 90 days to reduce the number of violations, and will face closer scrutiny if they don't. MSHA also can order mines evacuated until violations are fixed.
Tiller No. 1 was one of three Massey mines identified for persistent problems. The other two are underground mines in West Virginia.
The Richmond, Va.-based company said it will take corrective action at the mines and noted it has done so in the past when MSHA notified it of excessive violations at other operations.
"Massey's safety record is consistently better than the industry average," the company said. "Massey will take all necessary steps to ensure that these operations notified of the potential pattern of violations meet Massey Energy's standards."
In Missouri, Bob Roscoe, vice president of mining at The Doe Run Co., said the company was surprised at MSHA's notice about the Buick Mine and Mill near Viburnum, one of the company's six underground mines.
Roscoe said the company is taking the MSHA notice "extremely seriously."
"Safety has been and will always be an important priority for Doe Run," Roscoe said. "In the meantime, we will continue to equip, train and work with all of our employees to deliver on our commitments to keep each other safe."
The list also included mines operated by coal industry giant Peabody Energy in Indiana, Richmond, Va.-based James River Coal in Kentucky, St. Louis-based Patriot Coal in West Virginia and New York-based Renco Group, as well as three smaller operators.
A Peabody spokeswoman had no immediate comment, while representatives of James River, Patriot and Renco did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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26 miners confirmed dead in accident in Central China tin ore mine
Xinhua - China October 8, 2009
CHANGSHA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-six miners were confirmed dead as two lifters in a tin ore mine in central China's Hunan Province lost control, according to rescuers on Thursday.
Rescuers said that 19 miners were killed on the spot, and seven others failed emergency treatment.
There were 31 miners in the two lifters, which plunged because of brake failure at about 9:15am. Five workers were injured in the accident, said the rescuers.
The tin ore mine in Lengshuijiang City is operated by the Shanxing Antimony Industry Co. Ltd.
Chen Zhaoxiong, vice governor of the province, is at the scene overseeing the effort to deal with the aftermath of the accident.
Investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.
The provincial government has ordered an immediate check of workplace safety throughout the province.
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Two miners rescued, three still trapped in east China gas leak
Xinhua - China
October 8, 2009
HEFEI, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Two miners have been rescued and three others are still trapped underground after a colliery gas leak in east China's Anhui Province Thursday, local government said.
The accident occurred at about 9:47 a.m. in a coal pit of Wushi Mining Company in Ningguo City, leaving four drilling workers and one gas inspector trapped in the shaft.
One drilling worker and the gas inspector have been lifted out of the pit by Thursday evening, the Ningguo municipal government said. The two are in stable condition.
Rescue work continues.
In another fatal accident in the central province of Hunan, 26 miners have died as two lifters in a tin ore mine plunged because of brake failure at about 9:15 a.m. Thursday.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Coal producerMassey Energy Co. said Thursday it was surprised when U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd criticized the company for its opposition to donating money to help relocate a Raleigh County school.
TheWest Virginia Democrat spoke out without asking Massey about Marsh Fork Elementary, the company said. Byrd called Massey arrogant and greedy.
WestVirginia's other senator, Jay Rockefeller and Democratic Congressman Nick Rahall, whose southern West Virginia district includes Raleigh County, have since sided with Byrd, while Gov. Joe Manchin has stayed out of the fray.
"Massey Energy should take this significant step of helping to replace the Marsh Fork Elementary School," Rahall said in a statement Thursday. "It would go a long way toward improving the good will of the public toward that company and the coal industry."
Rockefeller said in a statement Massey should pitch in to eliminate hazards that weigh heavily on the parents of pupils. "It is right to expect the company to help pay for the solution."
Manchin spokesman Matt Turner said state government is willing to help if asked. "The School Building Authority will consider that request and it would go through the process that is outlined in state law," Turner said.
Marsh Fork Elementary stands downhill from a slurry impoundment at a nearby Massey mine and about 300 feet from a coal silo. Massey's plans to build a second silo nearby have sparked protests from environmentalists and some residents over the flood threat and claims that children are exposed to coal dust, among other things.
By contacting Massey, Byrd would have learned that Raleigh County hasn't asked for money, the company said in a statement.
Raleigh County Board of Education President Rick Snuffer, however, said he left a message seeking a meeting with Chief Executive Don Blankenship to discuss a contribution.
"They said he has your message and will call you back if he wants to," Snuffer said. "I don't want to be detrimental to them, but I felt it was only fair to give them a heads up what was going on, but they didn't respond to me."
The school board is expected to consider asking the state to help build a replacement school at a meeting Tuesday. Snuffer said the school's proximity to mining operations, its age and a nearby river are among several reasons it should be replaced.
Massey said Byrd also would have learned that changes such as adding conveyer belts and building the silo have improved the environment around the school since 1994.
"Massey is the largest employer in the area and pays millions of dollars in taxes each year that are available for school construction projects," the company said. "Massey has an ongoing commitment to the communities where it operates and Massey contributes substantial money to area schools including Marsh Fork Elementary."
Byrd said Wednesday that Massey is showing blatant disregard for the effect of mining on communities, residents and children.
"This is not the taxpayers' burden to remedy. This is Massey Energy's responsibility to address," he said in a statement. "This is about companies that blatantly disregard human life and safety because of greed."
Massey called that comment particularly upsetting.
"We work every day to ensure the safety of our miners and we are committed to improving the quality of life in the communities where our members live and work," Massey said, citing statistics that show its mines have fewer fatalities than the industry average.
Massey's safety record isn't unblemished, however. Earlier this year, a Massey subsidiary paid a $2.5 million fine to settle criminal charges stemming from a fire that killed two miners in 2006. On Wednesday, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration ordered Massey to improve health and safety conditions at three of its mines or face stricter enforcement and penalties.
Government campaign finance records show Massey employees haven't contributed to Byrd, Rahall or any other Democratic candidate for federal office since 1998. That year, Massey employees and at least one company political action committee gave money to Rahall's primary opponent. Richmond, Va.-based Massey is among the largest coal producers in the eastern U.S. and operates mines in West Virginia,Kentucky and Virginia.
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BEIJING, Oct.9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities confirmed Friday 13 people dead in two separate coal mine gas accidents in Guizhou and Anhui provinces in the past two days.
Ten people were killed Wednesday night at an illegally run coalmine pit of Gongqiao Village, in Weining County, Guizhou, said a spokesman for Guizhou Provincial Work Safety Bureau Friday.
Of the 14 miners working in the pit, only four were saved. They showed minor poisoning symptoms, and were out of danger after medical rescue, said the spokesman.
Guizhou Provincial Party and government officials have demanded campaign be launched immediately to shut down all illegal coal mines.
Local police are investigating the cause of the accident and hunting down the owner of the illegal coal mine.
In Anhui Province, east China, three of the five miners working for the Wushi Mining Company in Ningguo City were found dead in a gas leak accident which happened at 9:47 a.m. Thursday, when the five miners were drilling at a coal strata about 600 meters beneath the ground.
Only two miners were saved alive by rescuers. The bodies of the dead had been hoisted to the ground.
Investigation is underway.
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SHENYANG, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Six people were confirmed dead and seven still trapped underground after a coal-mine fire Friday night in northeastern China's Liaoning province, local government said Saturday morning.
The government sources said there was "little chance" for the seven still trapped to survive.
The accident occurred at around 11:15 p.m. Friday at Zhongxing Coal Mine in Haizhou district of Fuxin city, Liaoning province, trapping 13 people underground. By press time, bodies of six people had been retrieved, and rescue work continued.
The mine is a licensed, private enterprise with an annual production capacity of 90,000 tonnes.
Cause of the accident is being investigated.
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Disastrous Cherry coal mine fire kills hundreds 100 years ago
MyWebTimes.com October 10, 2009
On the morning of November 13, 1909, nearly 500 men and boys went to work in the coal mine carved underneath Cherry, Illinois.
259 of them never came home again.
The workforce, which consisted mostly of young immigrants in their first new world job, spent long days 500 feet below the surface and miles away from the main shaft and escape shaft.
The village of Cherry was 2,000 strong and in one way or another, everyone's life was connected to the town's only industry--the St. Paul Coal Company.
Shortly after lunch, the mine manager ordered some hay taken down to the mine's underground stables in one of the returning coal cars. Sixty mules shared work with the miners. Once called the world's safest mine, the Cherry works was one of the first mines in the Midwest to have illumination from electrical power.
However, two weeks before that fall day, the electricity shorted out. Without an existing union to protest the lack of safety considerations, the miners reverted back to open candles and kerosene lanterns strung through the anthill-like maze of tunnels. It was under one of these torches that the coal car full of dry hay was left by neglectful stablehands. Within minutes, the wooden car was totally ablaze.
The first attempts to extinguish the fire were uncoordinated and unsuccessful.
Panic slowly crawled along the black gangways as the wooden timbers shoring up the walls and ceiling started to burn. Then the coal vein itself caught fire. The smoke started spreading its fingers throughout the miles of passageways. And because there was only man-to-man communication, the word to abandon the mine moved slower than the deadly smoke.
Sensing a major disaster, the mine manager next ordered that the fan over the escape shaft, which normally forced air into the mine, be reversed to suck up the smoke. That action sent fresh oxygen down the main shaft. That helped to clear the air in some tunnels which allowed many choking miners to reach the surface.
Then suddenly the fan house burst into flames, leaving only one exit, the main shaft, open.
The mine manager, realizing that he had a tremendous tragedy in the making, sounded the coal company's disaster whistle which turned every head in Cherry and the surrounding prairie. From their fields, schools, homes and businesses, village residents raced to the company yard. Horrified at the news, friends and family pressed close around the main shaft as the cage (the elevator) was raised, hauling up gasping men and boys.
The manager quickly organized volunteers to be dropped into the mine to rescue the missing. They entered the mine six times saving dozens of lives.
One of rescued was Sam Haines. Blackfaced and choking, he stumbled off the cage into his freind's arms. Catching his breath, he asked about his brother. No, he was told, his brother was still underground. Sam looked into freind's eyes and they both knew that he had to go back down. He joined the heroes on the cage.
Before the seventh trip into that smoking chimney, the mine manager reviewed the signals for raising and lowering the cage with the lift operator. Follow my signals exactly as ordered. The engineer controlling the lift's steam engines agreed. With mere wet rags over their faces, the 12 heroes once again were lowered through the smoke. The terrified families of Cherry pressed close to the shaft's opening.
After several heart-pounding moments of silence, suddenly the bell next to the cage engineer rang ominously. Oh my God, he cried to the men and women near him. Those signals don't mean anything!
Pull 'em up, members of the crowd pleaded with the engineer. Something is wrong...
Refusing, the scared engineer followed his last orders. He waited for a meaningful signal as the bell clanged on and on. Then, it stopped. In the quiet through the smoke, the crowd stared at each other. The engineer, realizing then that some action must be taken, shoved the levers into play and pulled the cage out of that deep hole to the surface. The steel cables squealed as they ran through pulleys pulling up the cage.
When it appeared out the smoke, the village of Cherry died. All of the 12 men aboard the wooden lift were on fire in front of hundreds of their relatives and neighbors. Women fainted. Men screamed. Crying children ran from the scene. Most in the crowd also instantly realized the even more shocking truth -- the last exit from the mine was now gone.
There was no way to reach the 300 men and boys still trapped in the fire and smoke below ground.
Meanwhile, as wails of despair echoed out across the plains surrounding Cherry, trapped workers deep below struggled to survive in the dark reaches of the mine. Some men had time to write short last thoughts to loved ones before the smoke overtook them.
As most miners choked to death in the damp, 21 of them hurried to the far end of the works and sealed themselves off from the smoke. With lights for only the first few minutes of their entombment, the men were to sit in total darkness for eight days praying for a rescue that most thought would never come. They ate their shoes, belts, pieces of their clothing and drank their own urine in that hell hole. In the blackness, they waited.
Above, mine officials threw lumber and sand over the two blocked exits to deny the fire air. This enraged the grieving villagers who thought the company was only interested in saving the coal veins instead of saving the missing men. Threats against company employees forced the governor to send in the Illinois State Militia to maintain order in Cherry. Even the engineer in charge of the last cageload from the mine was forced to leave town for his own safety. Help in the form of food and supplies were rushed to the stricken village from all over the Midwest to insure that no family was left cold or hungry. Even the Chicago Fire Department was sent by train to help combat the fire. They poured tons of water into the shafts.
Eight days after the fire started, four of the 21 miners trapped at the end of the mine decided to make a bold attempt to reach the surface. To wait there any longer meant certain death and so they crawled out into the main tunnel. In total darkness, the men crawled over the bodies of their dead co-workers and mules looking for help along the miles of rocky passageways.
As they neared the main shaft, an exploration team surveying the damage discovered the four miracles. The steam whistle screamed the news to Cherry and once again, all villagers came running to the yard.
The heartbreak sat in hard as the number announced found alive was so small--only 25 out of nearly 300 men and boys missing returned to their families that day. Each rescued worker was given emergency medical treatment and taken home on a horse and buggy to a heroe's welcome.
Except for one old rescued miner, Daniel Holafcak. He insisted on walking home alone. Found dead in his bed two days later, Holafcak is considered the 259th victim of the Cherry Mine Disaster.
Serious exhumations of the victims in the mine began in the spring of 1910. Long rows of bodies were laid under white tents as they were each identified. Horse-drawn hearses carried the caskets to the Cherry graveyard in a seemingly unending parade.
The tragedy is credited with creation of new and stricter mine safety legislation, landmark settlements in workman compensation suits, and the rise of the mighty United Mine Workers Union.
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Police offer reward for whereabouts of deadly Chinese coal mine owners
October 11, 2009
GUIYANG, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Police in southwest China's Guizhou Province offered reward for clues of catching the four owners of an illegal coal mine where 10 miners were killed Wednesday night.
Notices have been put up in the Weining County, where the mine is located. According to the police, those who provide useful information will be entitled to 10,000 yuan (about 1,470 U.S. dollars), while anyone who brings the suspects to police can get 20,000 yuan (about 2,941.2 U.S. dollars).
Fourteen miners were trapped under ground and poisoned at about9 p.m. Wednesday at a coal mine pit of Gongqiao Village. Four of them later died.
Officials from the Weining County said that they had sealed up the pit earlier Wednesday, but the four owners, Cai Changhua, ChenDingcai, Su Yuanming and Chen Changyou from the village, broke the seal and told miners to enter the pit. They ran away after the accident.
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Government, company to compensate killed miners' families
October 11, 2009
FUXIN, Liaoning, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The families of the 13 miners killed in a coal mine fire will receive due compensation and long-term support from government and the mining company, said an official on Sunday.
The accident occurred Friday at Zhongxing Coal Mine in Haizhou district of Fuxin city in northeast China's Liaoning Province.
"Each family will receive no less than 235,000 yuan (34,429 U.S. dollars) of compensation. And the government and company will provide long-term support in medical care and education," said Zhang Jianhua, deputy Party secretary of the district.
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Ohio Valley Miners Take Honors In Mine Safety Competition
WTRF October 12, 2009
Expert mine rescue team took first place in the state of Ohio's competition.
CADIZ,OH -- The expert mine rescue team from American Energy Corporation’s Century Mine took first place in the state of Ohio’s Second Annual Mine Safety Competition, held October 1 at the Ohio Mine Safety Training Facility in Cadiz. American Energy Corporation is an independent operating subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation.
With this win, Murray Energy subsidiaries have won the competition each of the two years it has been staged. In 2008, the mine rescue team from subsidiary The Ohio Valley Coal Company’s Powhatan No. 6 Mine took first place, edging out the Century Mine rescue team, which finished second.
“The Century Mine team was determined to go out and do their best after finishing second to The Ohio Valley Coal Company last year,” said Allen McGilton, assistant corporate safety director at Murray Energy, who assists in the training of both the Century Mine and The Ohio Valley mine rescue teams. “Still, when they realized Century had won, The Ohio Valley Coal Company team was the first to congratulate them.”
Members of American Energy Corporation’s winning rescue team are Captain Ryan Muldrew, David Adams, Seth Frazier, Mike Pickens, Rick Wilson, Ernie VanDyne and Dan Panepucci.
Despite a friendly rivalry between the Murray Energy subsidiaries – and all of the nine Ohio teams that competed – emergency mine rescue preparedness is a serious aspect of mine safety. State mine regulators say the competitions are an important way for mine rescue teams to continue building their skills.
“Mine rescue competitions provide an opportunity to develop and hone the specialized skills of mine rescue teams and their members,” said Jerry Stewart, mine safety manager for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, who served as chief judge for the contest. “We conduct these training competitions to ensure teams are well prepared when they are called upon to assist fellow miners in danger during a real mine emergency.”
There were two components to this year’s competition. In the field exercise, mine rescue teams were required to solve a hypothetical mine rescue problem while judges rated them on how well they followed safety procedures and completed specific tasks. In the second exercise, the teams completed a similar challenge, but in a simulated mine where smoke reduced visibility and required use of self-contained breathing apparatuses.
McGilton said emergency mine rescue teams are so important to overall mine safety that federal law requires mine operators to have trained rescue squads – although Murray Energy had such teams at all of its mines long before they were required by law. The Ohio Mine Safety Competition counts toward federally required mine safety and rescue programs that miners must complete annually.
“The men on this team are committed to being the first line of response to saving their fellow miners in an emergency,” McGilton said. “When there is a real emergency and people are getting out of the mine, these professionals are going in. It is important and demanding work and they take it very seriously.”
Workers at the mine volunteer for rescue team duty and undergo specialized training in mine emergency rescue operations. The team holds frequent practice and training sessions – to prepare for competitions, and more importantly, to be ready to respond in the event of an actual mine emergency.
Toward that end, Murray Energy also works to recruit leading mine safety experts to manage safety programs throughout its operations. McGilton, who has nearly 40 years experience in mine safety and training, is a good example.
Recognized internationally as an expert in mine rescue, McGilton worked for the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and was a member of their Mine Emergency Unit before joining Murray Energy two years ago. He served in MSHA’s command center during the Sago (WV) mine disaster in 2006, as well as during the Loveridge (WV) mine fires in both 1999 and 2003. McGilton also was co-director of MSHA’s national mine rescue competition and in 2006 was invited by the Chinese government to train mine rescue teams in Beijing.
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U. S. Mine Rescue Association http://www.usmra.com
Home of the largest and most comprehensive
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The last person the U.S. Senate confirmed to run the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration without a confirmation hearing was named Dave D. Lauriski.
It doesn’t seem likely that Joe Main is going to tear down theimprovements made to MSHA (some might say forced upon MSHA and the Bush administration by Congress) following Sago, Aracoma, Darby and Crandall Canyon.
But it’s still a shame that members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee didn’t take the time to question Main and get him on the record about his plans for the agency. Tomorrow, the full Senateis scheduled to vote on The full Senate could vote on — and likely approve — Main’s nomination as early as tomorrow.
I’ve already put in a request for an interview with Joe as soon as he’s confirmed. The answer I got — that he’ll want some time to get settled in first — makes me wonder … shouldn’t the very first thing that Joe Main changes about MSHA be itstroublesome public information and Freedom of Information Act policies?
How about a memo that summarily gets rid of Bush-era information policies that prohibited inspectors and district managers from talking on-the-record to the media? How about reversing the rules that said inspection reports and copies of citations — once freely available to the press via fax — would only be made public upon submission of a formal FOIA request and months of waiting? And what about really dumping the Bush policy that transcripts of accident investigation interviews won’t be released to the press, the public and the mining community?
But that’s not all … obviously, communicating with the press, the public and the mining industry is just a fraction of what MSHA’s new leader needs to do.
So just for the heck of it, here’s my top 6 questions that I would have asked Joe Main if I were on the Senate HELP Committee and if the committee had bothered to hold a hearing:
1. You’ve been aUMWA man your whole adult life. What would you say here and now to convince operators of non-union mines across this country that MSHA under your leadership isn’t going to be tougher on them than on union operations?
BOGOTA – Six men trapped by an explosion at a coal mine in the Colombian province of Norte de Santander were found dead Wednesday, an official said.
Alfonso Tarazona, head of the Norte de Santander Emergency Management Office, told reporters in Cucuta, the provincial capital, that the bodies were recovered some 18 hours after Tuesday’s blast at the La Orquidea mine.
He said the recovery effort was difficult because of the depth of the shaft and the high concentration of methane gas inside the mine, which is located in the municipality of El Zulia, near Cucuta and the Venezuelan border.
One of the dead was a mining engineer, Tarazona said.
Nine men working in the shaft at the time of the explosion were rescued alive Tuesday and are being treated at area hospitals.
Local authorities and personnel from the Colombian Geology and Mining Institute opened an investigation into the cause of the blast.
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A coal mine explosion in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has left 11 people dead, with 3 others still missing.
Authorities say the accident happened at dusk on Wednesday at Dafeng Mine in the city of Shizuishan. Workers from a local mechanical-chemical firm were using dynamite to blast away rocks in one of the mining areas when the accident happened.
As of Thursday morning, 3 people were still missing. Rescue work is continuing and the regional government has launched an investigation.
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Simulated coal mine dedicated to help train miners
The Daily Anthanaeum
October 19, 2009
West Virginia University dedicated a new simulated underground coal mine Friday to be used for miner training.
At the dedication of the $1 million facility, located at the WVU Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies, officials from the University and the West Virginia Coal Association, as well as a representative for Gov. Joe Manchin, spoke to a crowd that had only standing room left.
University President James P. Clements said the packed house indicated the level of involvement needed to accomplish such an ambitious project, noting WVU now has "the best training facility in the country."
"You can only get projects like this done with a team effort," he said, noting the training facility epitomizes WVU’s mission and signifies its commitment to safe mining practices.
"This is our vision turned into real world issues and coming up with solutions," he said. "It does take a lot of people to make it happen. This is one step, important to improve safety and save lives."
The facility is 340 feet long by 110 feet wide and will be used to train new miners and foremen, rescue teams, mine fire brigades and for other specialized training, according to a press release.
The simulated mine is built to resemble an actual mine, divided into passageways, chambers and rooms and featuring multiple entryways and crosscuts.
It also hosts a burn room for fire training, a feature setting it apart from many other facilities.
Initial funding came from the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training and the West Virginia Division of Energy. Alpha Natural Resources, Consol Energy, HSC Industrial, Joy Continental Product Line, Murray Energy and Patriot Coal donated equipment and materials.
Michelle Figaretti, a regional representative for Manchin, said in a statement from the governor, the construction of the new facility signifies West Virginia’s dedication to mine safety.
"As we have tragically learned in the past, few things are more important in the Mountain State than the safety and training of our miners," Manchin said in the statement.
Chris Hamilton, executive vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, thanked WVU for its foresight and commitment to the coal industry, saying the facility will help "upgrade the professionalism of today’s modern miner."
Despite challenges facing the coal industry, Hamilton is confident the industry will remain viable in today’s market. He hopes the new facility will help West Virginia "realize its energy potential."
"With the addition of this facility, we see the University playing an extremely important part in our efforts," Hamilton said.
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U. S. Mine Rescue Association http://www.usmra.com
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BEIJING — A court in southwest China sentenced six men to death Wednesday for gang-related crimes including blackmail and murder, the first convictions in a monthslong crackdown that has exposed a major city mired in violent organized crime.
More than 1,544 suspects have been detained in Chongqing, China's largest municipality, since the gang sweep started in June, with more than a dozen criminal gangs busted. In August, the city's longtime deputy head of police — who was also head of the judicial bureau — was taken away for internal investigation by the Communist Party, accused of protecting gangs in the city.
Members of the city or district people's congresses have also been ensnared.
In two separate trials at the city's intermediate courts, two gang leaders and one gang member were sentenced to death, and three others were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, said a notice on the official Web site for China's courts.
Suspended death sentences are usually commuted to life in prison in China.
Twenty-five others accused of belonging to "mafia-style" organizations were given sentences ranging from one to 18 years in jail, the notice said.
In one case, gang leader Yang Tianqing was sentenced to death for intentionally harming others, blackmail, illegally possessing arms and other charges, it said. Since 2005, Yang hired newly released criminals and jobless people to terrorize people in four districts of Chongqing city, the statement said. Member Liu Chenghu was also sentenced to death on five charges, including belonging to a "mafia-style" organization.
In another case involving 22 people, Liu Zhongyong was sentenced to death for leading and organizing a gang, murder, intentionally harming others and other charges, it said. Liu was also found to have run an illegal coal mine in the city that caved in twice, killing three people, and was charged with causing a work safety accident.
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Main, an ex-miner and former top official with the United Mine Workers union, will take over an agency that he often criticized for a lax record on safety and health issues.
He first mined coal as a teenager in the late 1960s and then worked his way through the ranks of the UMW to become the administrator of its Occupational Health and Safety Department.
From that post, he frequently testified beforecongressional committees on behalf of the union. He also was involved in investigations of many fatal mining accidents, both in union and non-union mines.
A native of Pennsylvania who now lives in Virginia, Main most recently was a mine safety consultant.
MSHA, with an annual budget of about $350 million, regulates underground and surface coal mines, metal and non-metal mines and other operations that together employed about 270,000 in 2007, the latest year for which data is available.
Main is well known in coal mining in Kentucky and other coal-producing states.
Kentucky has nearly 17,000 coal miners, second only to West Virginia’s 20,000. Kentucky produces more coal east of the Mississippi River than any state except West Virginia.
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U. S. Mine Rescue Association http://www.usmra.com
Home of the largest and most comprehensive
collection of mine safety training materials on the web http://www.usmra.com/repository/
Trapped miners unhurt after six days in northwest China
Xinhua - China
October 23, 2009
SHENMU, Shaanxi, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The three trapped miners in northwest China's Shaanxi Province was still alive and unhurt, said rescuers on Friday.
Rescuers have made a channel to deliver food and drinking water to them, and they were all described as in "good physical condition", said Wang Ruimin, director of the government office of Shenmu county.
Wang had estimated that the miners would be saved on Friday, but due to the complicated geological structure underground, the rescue work was progressing slowly.
A rescuer, who didn't disclose his name, reported to local official Friday afternoon that the miners were hopefully to be saved Saturday afternoon if everything goes on well.
The accident happened at about 1 a.m. at the Shenmu county of Shaanxi, where gas burst occurred at the Yongxing Gaozhuang coal mine. Among the 27 worker in the shaft, 24 managed to escape.
The trapped three are a team leader and two drivers.
SHENMU, Shaanxi: Three coal mine workers were rescued early Sunday morning after being trapped underground for more than eight days in the Northwest Shaanxi province.
Rescuers pulled up the three men to the ground from the pit of a coal mine in Shenmu County at about 3:30 am.
Medical staff immediately wrapped them up with thick coats and rushed them to the hospital.
Rescuers said the miners were in stable condition. Doctors were giving checkups to them.
The three men - team leader Wang Shibin and drivers Shi Xingrong and Zhang Meijun - had been stranded in the shaft of Yongxing Gaogzhuang Coal Mine since an accident in the colliery on October 17.
Among the 27 workers in the shaft at the time of the accident, 24 managed to escape.
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TAIYUAN: The first group of 19 merged collieries in Shanxi Province have got business permits recently from authorities, a significant progress of the region's largest-ever restructuring campaign in an effort to improve work safety conditions and production capacity of the industry.
About 97.9 percent of all the 2,598 involved coal mines have signed merging deals and the issuance of new business licenses are in full swing, the provincial administration of land and resources and coal industry told Xinhua on Sunday.
Shanxi, China's leading coal production base that has suffered frequent fatal mining accidents, is expected to see the eradication of all small mines with an annual production capacity of below 300,000 tonnes by the end of the year, the scheduled deadline.
By cutting off about 60 percent of its existing coal mines, the province will finally have 1,053 collieries, 20 percent are state-owned firms, 30 percent are privately-run companies and 50 percent with mixed ownerships.
All the merged coal mines must adopt mechanized mining, which will greatly raise output and reduce workplace fatalities.
According to the plan, Shanxi is expected to have four coal mine groups producing more than 100 million tonnes of coal a year, three groups with an annual output of more than 50 million tonnes and 83 companies whose production capacity range between about 3 million tonnes a year to more than 10 million tonnes, said Wang Shouzhen, director with the provincial administration of coal industry.
Xue Deping's Xiaoyi Dewei Coal Mine was merged by the state-owned Shanxi Coking Coal Group Co. Ltd. in July and he now holds 49 percent of the shares of the new company, which officially started operation on October 11.
"I'm now standing on a development highland after the cooperation with a giant of the industry," said Xue.
The merge could help private companies to survive as it introduces advanced production technologies and management methods, he said.
Four professional mining departments, six technological and logistics sections were established and many outdated mining facilities had been replaced. "I've never dreamed about such production conditions before," said Xue.
The government of Shanxi initiated the campaign late last year with the approval of state-level authorities amid the global economic downturn. The move has demonstrated positive effects as the province registered 159 deaths in 45 coal mine accidents between January and September this year, or 28 percent and 62 percent less than the same period of last year respectively, according to Miao Huanli, an official with the administration.
The move also led to more coal output and revenue. Statistics from the administration showed that coal mines produced 430 million tonnes of coal in the first three quarters of the year, turning in 45.47 billion yuan (US$6.66 billion) in revenue, up 6.4 percent over that in the same period last year.
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