Mine Disaster Shines Light on Workplace Safety

The mine explosion that killed 25 and counting in Montcoal, West Virginia yesterday is the worst mining accident in more than 20 years. It's a tragedy for the families of those who died and for the battered community. It also shines a light on workplace safety and the responsibility of employers to keep employees healthy.

Mining may be inherently more dangerous than, say, sitting in a cubicle, but everyone should have a reasonable expectation of safety relative to the job they perform. Workers have rights — and recourse. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, each employer is required by law to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm." (Workers in any industry can request free "health hazard evaluations" of their workplaces from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.)

Miners carry oxygen canisters on their belts in case of emergency. That's a precaution in the vein of body armor for soldiers; it's a dangerous job and there are accepted risks. But in the wake of the accident comes news that the mine, Massey Energy Co.'s Upper Big Branch mine, operated by Performance Coal Company, got 57 safety violations just last month. One of them was for improper ventilation of methane gas — a "recognized hazard" — which is believed to be the culprit for the explosion. If employees aren't aware of the failings of their employers, they can't accurately weigh the risk of the job to the reward of getting an increasingly elusive paycheck.

Though it is still one of the more dangerous jobs generally, mining has gotten progressively safer over the past several decades; it accounts for a smaller proportion of occupational fatalities than the construction or transportation industries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last year there were a record-low 18 coal mining deaths throughout the 2,000 coal mines in the U.S., according to the Department of Labor's Mine Safety & Health Administration.

At least six years out of the last ten, however, the Upper Big Branch mine has had an injury rate higher than the national average for similar mines. It racked up 458 violations last year and was fined close to $900,000, yet it remained open and still has not paid the balance in full. In 2006, another Massey Energy subsidiary acknowledged culpability and paid a settlement for a mine fire that killed two due to faulty ventilation equipment.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis issued this statement this morning: "Twenty-five hardworking men died needlessly in a mine yesterday. I pledge that their deaths will not be in vain. Miners should never have to sacrifice their lives for their livelihood."

The dim light at the end of that tunnel in West Virginia is the promise of workplace safety retaking its rightful place in discussions of health and health reform.

Photo credit: Esprit de sel