by Mike Hall, Jun 9, 2006

The Mine Workers (UMWA) union has filed suit in federal court to force the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to begin immediate testing of the emergency oxygen devices every coal miner carries. The filing came a day after Congress approved new mine safety rules.

Thirty-three coal miners have been killed on the job so far this year, more than in any full year since 2001. There have been reports that the oxygen devices, known as self-contained self-rescuers (SCSRs), had failed or not functioned properly in some cases, leading to the deaths of miners who survived explosions but perished before rescuers could arrive.

Randal McCloy, the lone survivor of the Jan. 2 explosion that killed 12 West Virginia miners at the International Coal Group’s Sago Mine, said emergency oxygen packs failed 10 men who survived for hours after the explosion before succumbing to the mine’s toxic atmosphere. There also have been reports that air packs failed in the May 20 explosion that killed five miners in Harlan County, Ky.

UMWA President Cecil Roberts said problems with the units have been reported for years and the union has frequently—most recently on May 1—urged the agency to address the issue, with little result from the MSHA.

We frankly wish we didn’t have to go to court to get MSHA to do this. MSHA is supposed to be the federal watchdog for mine safety, and after all the reports of failed SCSRs in emergency situations, you would think MSHA would do this on its own. Indeed, I have asked the agency, in writing, to do so.

MSHA’s response has been to call for more study, more “recommendations” for coal companies to perhaps consider when it comes to SCSRs. We are way past the “study” and “recommendation” stages now. Coal miners are dying. We must find out why this is happening and find out now. And then we must make the companies implement needed changes—right now.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also calls for immediate implementation of training in emergency-simulated situations for miners who may need to use the devices in the event of a real mine emergency. Currently, most training takes place in above-ground classrooms where instructors show new miners how to open and use the devices. Roberts said:

The kind of training the UMWA is calling for in this suit will give miners confidence that they know what to expect if they have to activate their SCSRs in a real emergency. They must have a better understanding of what it is like to put these units on in the dark, in the smoke, in the anxious moments that follow after an explosion or fire underground.

The recently passed mine safety bill, which is expected to be signed into law soon, would require improved emergency oxygen supplies, communications, tracking and other safety improvements. But it does not address the reliability of the current self-rescuers nor training in their use.

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