Mine safety needs to be investigated
Thanks to a near-doubling of its force of inspectors, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration's goal is to comply with the law.
If that sounds a bit sarcastic, it is because that was our intention. For some time, the MSHA was not complying with federal law requiring that coal mines be inspected periodically.
During 2006, the agency failed to conduct mandatory inspections at 107 of the 731 underground mines then operating in the United States, according to a federal report last year.
That year, a series of disasters, including one at the Sago Mine in West Virginia, refocused attention on safety. MSHA officials pleaded that they simply did not have enough inspectors to do the work required by the law.
Since the Sago disaster, MSHA has hired more than 300 new inspectors, bringing its total up to 750. Agency head Richard Stickler said he is implementing a plan to ensure that all required inspections are conducted. About $10 million has been earmarked for overtime pay for inspectors, Stickler said.
Government agencies sometimes merit commendation for going above and beyond the call of duty. But in this case, MSHA went far below the call of duty - and federal law - for an undetermined amount of time. Plainly and simply, it did not comply with a requirement that mines be inspected regularly, even as it was insisting that coal operators follow all the safety rules.
Some critics have said that the agency was not able to conduct some inspections because it was not funded adequately. That issue needs to be investigated. If MSHA was underfunded, why? Was a misguided attempt to save taxpayers money to blame? Did members of the executive branch who proposed MSHA budgets not understand how much the agency needed? What role did Congress play in the serious mistake?
It shouldn't take a series of terrible disasters to focus federal government on doing its duty in protecting the health and safety of working men and women - at least to comply with the law. Americans who rely on various agencies to enforce health and safety laws have a right to know why MSHA failed - and what needs to be done to prevent similar lapses in the future.
The Mining Journal
Marquette
