SEARCH
Sago Mine Deaths Could Have Been Prevented |
|
The 12 coal miners who died following a methane explosion in the Sago Mine in Upshur County, W.Va., could be alive today if the foam blocks used to seal off the section of the mine where the blast occurred had contained the explosion as they were supposed to, a report on the deadly disaster concludes.
The Sago Mine Disaster report was prepared by mine safety expert Davitt McAteer for the state of West Virginia. The report does not pinpoint a cause or source for the Jan. 2 explosion that occurred in a sealed off section and “pulverized” the blocks and sent the blast into the active sections of the mine. But McAteer, former head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), says there were several ways the miners may have survived. In the report, he writes:
It is important to make a clear distinction between what caused the explosion and what caused the disaster.
- There would have been no disaster if the explosion had been contained by the supposedly explosion-proof seals.
- There might have been no disaster if the miners…had been able to make all of their SCSRs (emergency oxygen packs) work.
- There would have been no disaster if it had been possible for rescuers to communicate with the miners…They could have been told that there was [breathable] air at the mouth of the section, not far from where they were. But the mine’s phone system—an outmoded, vulnerable system typical of underground mines—was knocked out by the explosion.
- There would have been no disaster if mine rescue teams had been sent into the mine sooner and allowed to advance.
- There might have been no disaster if it had been possible to rapidly pinpoint the location of the trapped miners.
The mine owners, International Coal Group (ICG), installed Omega foam blocks that are far lighter than the concrete blocks that some mines use. The blocks were used to seal off highly explosive methane from working areas. But MSHA has approved the use of the blocks and deemed them “explosion proof.” And they are now in use at many mines around the country.
McAteer writes:
As to the seals themselves, in the early stages of the investigation much attention was paid to the question of whether they were properly constructed. That question has not been entirely resolved and may never be, since most of the seals were pulverized. But to some extent the focus on this question had the effect of distracting attention from the larger and more relevant question, which is whether the Omega blocks that were used to construct the seals were, in fact, capable of withstanding a severe explosion. It is important to note here that this question does not go to the adequacy of ICG’s management of the Sago Mine. The mine operator installed, and relied upon, a type of seal approved for the purpose by the federal government.
After the report was released yesterday, MSHA announced it was setting new standards for such blocks requiring them to withstand an explosive force of 50 pounds per square inch (psi) over the current 20 psi standard. In addition, MSHA ordered that all current seals be inspected and reinforced if found deficient.
ICG claims lightning caused the blast, somehow entering the mine and traveling to the sealed off area, igniting the methane. The report says:
Although various theories have been offered by International Coal Group consultants and others, definitive evidence has not yet been found or confirmed by state or federal investigators.
If lightning did play a role, McAteer writes:
it is clear that ICG failed to properly ground the mine’s electrical power infrastructure in its entirety, and failed to install lightning arrestors at some key locations as required by federal regulations. Pending further investigation, the question of whether these failures directly contributed to the explosion and subsequent loss of life remains to be resolved, but there is no question that they represent serious failures of mine management.
The report also makes recommendations to improve mine safety, including strengthening underground communication, improving the reliability of emergency oxygen packs, providing emergency underground shelters with breathable air and other emergency supplies and better emergency tracking methods.
We offer these recommendations in full awareness that more remains to be done. But that should not be a rationale for delay. There are technologies and equipment available today that could be making our coal mines significantly safer tomorrow — for example by improving communication and the ability to locate miners, and, when escape is not possible, improving miners’ chances of surviving an explosion or fire by providing refuge chambers.
If we insist on waiting for perfect technological answers to the challenges facing us, we will wait forever.
The Mine Workers, who were asked by some miners and their families to represent them in safety matters, even though Sago is a nonunion mine, said in a press release:
We are reviewing Mr. McAteer’s report so that we can thoroughly understand what it says and its implications. The UMWA will release our own report on the tragedy in the near future. It will be the culmination of thousands of hours spent by our safety experts who were part of the investigation and those in our Department of Occupational Health and Safety. We will continue to work to improve mine safety regulations and enforcement at both the state and federal levels. Coal miners and their families deserve no less.
MSHA has not released the results of its investigation yet.
The full report is available here.
No Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
