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Lawmakers, Union Urge Mine Safety Regulators to Act on Silica Dust
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) — A group of Ohio Valley senators says a watchdog agency’s recent report shows that federal regulators must do more to protect coal miners from silica dust, an especially toxic form of dust created when mining equipment cuts into rock layers near coal seams. In a Monday morning press release, six Democratic senators,… Read More
Federal Watchdog Finds Coal Safety Regulator Not Protecting Miners From Silica Dust
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is not doing enough to protect coal miners from deadly silica dust, according to a new report from the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General. The IG found that MSHA’s standards for exposure to deadly silica dust were out of date, and MSHA lacked… Read More
Mine Safety Officials Won’t Do More To Protect Coal Miners From COVID-19, Letter Says
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) —The Mine Safety and Health Administration is declining to issue an emergency temporary standard that could protect coal miners whose jobs make them vulnerable to the coronavirus. That’s according to an August 14 letter from Department of Labor Deputy Assistant Secretary Joe Wheeler to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. MSHA can issue emergency temporary… Read More
Oversight Office: MSHA Should Do More To Protect Miners In Pandemic
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) — The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has not done enough to protect coal miners during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from an oversight agency released Tuesday. Through interviews with MSHA officials and union representatives, as well as reviews of state and national policies, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector… Read More
Justice Coal Companies Agree to Settle $5 Million in Delinquent Mine Safety Debts
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (OVR) — Coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice have agreed to pay more than $5 million in overdue mine health and safety fines and fees. According to a press release released Wednesday, a total of 24 coal companies owned by the Justice family agreed to settle millions of dollars… Read More
Federal Agency to Hear Comment on Silica Dust as Black Lung Epidemic Rages
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration will host a public meeting Thursday as it considers action on regulating respirable silica, one of the major contributors to Appalachia’s skyrocketing rates of black lung disease. MSHA issued a request for information in response to calls for increased regulation after a 2018 investigation from NPR and PBS Frontline. That… Read More
Coal Mine Electrician Dies in Accident at West Virginia Mine
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia officials say a 40-year-old coal mine electrician has died in an accident. The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training says Steven Vernon Keeney of Sylvester died of injuries from an apparent electrical shock. The accident happened at 12:18 a.m. Tuesday at the Panther Creek Mining American… Read More
Mines No Safer Despite $1 Billion In Fines, Federal Audit Says
By: Howard Berkes | Robert Benincasa | NPR
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A Labor Department audit found no correlation between the federal system that fines mining companies for unsafe conditions and safety in mining operations.
As Congressional Panel Focuses On Black Lung, UMW Urges Stronger Health Protections
As Congress hears testimony on the epidemic of black lung disease among Appalachian miners, two labor leaders are calling on Congress and regulators to do more to protect miners. In a letter to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA, the United Mine Workers of America and the United Steel Workers of America urged… Read More
Mine Safety Debt For WV Gov. Justice’s Family Companies Grows to $4M
By: Brittany Patterson | Alexandra Kanik | Ohio Valley ReSource
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An Ohio Valley ReSource analysis of federal mine safety data shows that the companies belonging to the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice owe $4.3 million in delinquent debt for mine safety violations. That is far more than the companies owed when Justice ran for governor in 2016, when he pledged to make good… Read More
Mine Workers Sue Federal Regulators Over Controversial Mine Safety Decision
By: Brittany Patterson | Becca Schimmel | Ohio Valley ReSource
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The United Mine Workers of America is suing the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA, after the agency reduced its heightened oversight of a West Virginia coal mine with a poor safety record. MSHA has the power to declare mines with a history of significant safety violations as having a “Pattern of Violations.”… Read More