Improving Miner Safety
On January 16, 2008, the House passed the S-MINER (Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response) Act, H.R. 2768. This bill builds on the MINER Act of 2006 – providing critical mine safety reforms that were unaddressed in the 2006 legislation. President Bush threatened to veto this legislation.
Following is an overview of the manager’s amendment and of the bill.
Manager’s Amendment
The Manager’s Amendment does four things. First, it will authorize $30 million for the Department of Labor to buy the new generation of personal dust monitors required by the bill and provide them to miners. Second, it will increase the time permitted for the mining industry to install a new generation of fire-resistant conveyor belts, significantly cutting industry compliance costs in the underlying bill. Third, it will eliminate delays by some mine operators in providing supplies of breathable air in underground coal mines for miners who may become trapped, as required under the MINER Act of 2006. Finally, it directs the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study on the extent of substance abuse problems in the mines and how best to deal with those problems. And, within six months, she is authorized to establish a program at MSHA, if she deems it feasible and effective, for drug testing, drug treatment, and rehabilitation of miners with substance abuse problems. The study and program will be conducted in consultation with all interested parties, including the miners, unions, operators, state agencies, and public health experts.
The Bill
Preventing Mining Disasters
The United States continues to witness mining accidents that claim the lives of miners. The first goal of the S-MINER Act is to eliminate known problems that could contribute to such disasters.
Adds new safeguards for retreat mining. Retreat mining is the type of mining that was being done at central Utah’s Crandall Canyon mine, where nine people died in August 2007. Retreat mining involves removing the coal pillars originally left in place to hold up the mine roof. Crandall Canyon highlighted the risky nature of retreat mining and the poor oversight of retreat mining plans by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The bill adds new safeguards for retreat mining, including requiring MSHA to more closely review retreat mining plans before approving them.
Toughens the standards for explosion-proof seals at mines. Seals are the walls that block off an abandoned area of a mine, where methane can build up to dangerous levels, from the active area of a mine. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has concluded that these seals must be able to withstand pressure of 240 pounds per square inch. Yet current law only requires that they withstand pressure of 20 pounds per square inch. The bill adopts the NIOSH’s proposal.
Improves the safety of conveyer belts used in mines. The friction of the conveyer belts can create sparks; as a result, the belts themselves can catch on fire. The bill requires mines to begin using new, fire-resistant conveyer belts to carry materials out of the mines.
Strengthens MSHA’s enforcement hand. New rules won’t make any difference if MSHA lacks the authority to enforce them. The bill provides MSHA with subpoena authority. It also makes it easier for MSHA to collect penalties; increases penalties; and allows MSHA to shut down mines that do not promptly abate violations.
Strengthens miners’ rights by establishing a new Miner Ombudsman. The bill creates an Office of Miner Ombudsman. An ombudsman would provide miners with an expert, independent, confidential outlet for reporting safety concerns.
Improving Emergency Response
In the event that disasters do strike, it is critical that MSHA improve its emergency response. The bill includes a number of common-sense proposals for better equipping MSHA to respond to emergencies.
Clarifies MSHA’s authority at the scene of a disaster. Under the bill, when the Secretary of Labor directs a rescue, the mine operator must cooperate and comply with MSHA’s requests for resources.
Requires MSHA to develop its own emergency response plan. The 2006 MINER Act required mines to develop emergency response plans, but did not require the same of MSHA. This bill closes that gap.
Establishes rules for independent investigations into disasters with multiple fatalities. Under current law, MSHA is responsible for determining liability in the case of a mining accident and for investigating its own staff’s actions. It defies common sense for MSHA to be responsible for investigating itself. The bill establishes ground rules for independent accident investigations of multiple-fatality mine accidents.
Improves life-saving technology in the mines. The bill requires mines to immediately begin installing the best-available technology for tracking and communicating with workers underground. If better technology had been employed at recent mine disasters, then perhaps those tragic outcomes could have been altered.
Reducing Long-Term Health Risks
Miners also continue to face long-term health risks from hazards like exposure to coal dust, silica, and asbestos. The bill provides for updating outdated standards meant to guard against such health risks.
Updates black lung standards. Generations of coal miners have suffered and died from black lung, a severe disease triggered by exposure to coal dust. NIOSH has confirmed that a new generation of miners is coming down with the disease. The bill updates black lung standards that are nearly four decades old and clearly inadequate – cutting in half the levels of coal dust that miners can be legally exposed to.
Requires updating of exposure limits for other health hazards. The bill would establish a new set of procedures to help MHSA to update exposure limits for hundreds of health hazards faced by miners, some of them decades out of date. It would ensure that MSHA examine legitimate concerns about economic or technological feasibility of any new rule before taking such actions.