House Labor Committee Approves Legislation to Make Work Safer for Miners

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- By a vote of 26 to 18, the House Education and Labor Committee today approved mine safety and health legislation that would help prevent mining disasters, improve emergency response when disasters do occur, and reduce long-term health risks, such as black lung disease, facing miners.

“This legislation represents a comprehensive approach to minimize the health and safety risks facing miners,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee and a cosponsor of the bill. “Our aim is a simple one: We want to do everything we can to ensure that miners are able to return home safely at the end of their shifts.”

Mining remains one of the most dangerous occupations in America, with a fatality rate more than seven times higher than the average for all private industries. So far this year, 56 miners have died on the job in the U.S. The legislation approved today, H.R. 2768, the Supplementary Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (S-MINER), builds on legislation signed into law in 2006 by addressing serious gaps in mine safety and health standards.  

“With this legislation, we hope to prevent the appalling loss of life that we’ve had in the past couple of years – at Sago, Darby, Aracoma, and most recently Crandall Canyon in Utah,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the House Subcommittee on Workplace Protections. 

Specifically, the S-MINER Act would:

• Help prevent disasters. It would add new safeguards for a dangerous practice called “retreat mining.” It would strengthen standards to contain explosions and fires inside mines. It strengthens the enforcement hand of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, in part by giving the agency subpoena authority. It increases certain penalties against mine operators that violate the law. And it creates a miner ombudsman’s office to handle safety complaints from miners.

• Improve emergency response in the event that a disaster does occur. The legislation more clearly defines MSHA’s responsibilities and authority at the scene of a disaster. It requires MSHA to develop a plan to better coordinate with state and local authorities. It establishes rules for independent investigations of mining disasters. And it would improve safety technology in the mines, including better tracking and communications equipment, more reliable air supplies, and the installation of refuge chambers where trapped miners can safely await rescue.

• Reduce long-term health risks facing miners. The legislation updates standards to combat black lung disease and to reduce miners’ exposure to other deadly health risks, such as asbestos. It also strengthens rules to better inform miners of the health risks they face.

For more information on the S-MINER Act, click here.

To read Miller’s opening statement from today’s markup, click here.

Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has introduced similar legislation in the Senate.

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