Keeping miners alive

Gargi Chakrabarty, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 4, 2006 at midnight

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The death of 12 miners deep in a West Virginia coal mine last month opened a national debate over the safety of this inherently dangerous profession.

And in the weeks since, more flaws have been exposed, and four more West Virginia miners have died.

Colorado's eight underground coal mines have a respectable safety record, and they haven't received national or even local attention.

But mine safety experts say the companies that run these coal mines shouldn't rest on their laurels. There should be a focus on what can be done better, not how safe the mines are now, the experts say, suggesting that another layer of oversight be added.

"Safety in (Colorado) mines is as good as any place in the U.S. But we should never be satisfied," says Bob Ferriter, director of the mine safety training program at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

The program is one of a few in the nation that uses a real mine, the decommissioned Edgar mine in Idaho Springs, to train students and professional miners.

"We should always be looking for new things to improve safety for the miners who are risking their lives for us every day," he says.

Colorado hasn't had a fatal accident in a coal mine in the past five years. The rate of nonfatal accidents in Colorado coal mines is about 30 percent lower than the national rate, according to federal data.

The mines are regulated by federal inspectors, and the state takes a backseat role. State inspectors certify trained miners and issue permits, including those for reclamation.

"Our industry has received a lot of flak in the last few weeks," concedes Jim Cooper, executive vice president of Oxbow Mining LLC, which owns the Elk Creek underground coal mine in Somerset in southwest Colorado. "We do work in a hazardous industry, but our fatality rate is not among the top five hazardous industries in the U.S. Safety is very important to us.

"Every budget meeting starts with safety, not what the cost is or what the profit is going to be," Cooper adds.

That's a good start, mining safety experts say. But they point out several safety measures that are lacking: Colorado does not have a dedicated toll-free number for coal mines to report serious accidents. It does not have a state rescue team to respond to emergencies. And most mines do not use tracking devices to locate miners.

"I think regulations continually need to be updated," the School of Mines' Ferriter says.

West Virginia trickle-down

Jolted by the deaths of 12 miners after an explosion Jan. 2 at the Sago mine and two more in a fire Jan. 12 at the Aracoma Alma No. 1 mine, the West Virginia legislature passed mine safety reforms last week.

The law requires mines to store additional emergency breathing caches underground in marked areas and install systems to track and communicate with miners. It also forces mines to report serious accidents within 15 minutes by calling a statewide toll free number; failure to comply will bring a $100,000 fine.

Following two more deaths Wednesday, the state now is looking at additional reforms, such as safe rooms and escape facilities in underground mines. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, who has spearheaded safety reforms in past weeks, has called on all mines in his state to halt operations until thorough safety checks are made.

West Virginia's efforts are in addition to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 enforced by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Given West Virginia's spate of problems, the added regulations make sense, but that shouldn't mean all states need them, Colorado mining companies warn.

"I have read West Virginia's legislation. We already do 85 percent to 90 percent of what they are asking," said Greg Schaefer of Arch Coal, which owns the West Elk underground coal mine in Somerset, outside Paonia. The mine produced about 6 million tons of coal last year and employs 350.

"We already have caches of self-contained self-rescuers (breathing equipment that can generate up to one hour of oxygen supply) in strategic locations in the mine," Schaefer says. "We have clearly marked exits in the mine, and have stringent air (quality) requirements."

Schaefer says the mine is looking at personal tracking devices.

"What works in West Virginia may not work in Colorado," he says.

For one, the states have very different industries, he says. West Virginia, the second-largest U.S. producer of coal, produced 153.6 million tons from 544 mines, some of which are very small. In comparison, Colorado - the sixth-largest producer - mined 40 million tons from eight underground and four surface mines.

Mine communication

Coal companies have been discussing communication devices - called personal emergency devices, or PEDs - for the past few years. These PEDs work like text-messaging on a cell phone - they send signals that cause a miner's cap lamp to flash, alerting the miner to check a message sent to a pagerlike device strapped on his belt.

Only 19 of about 800 underground mines use the device. In Colorado, one mine, the Twentymile surface coal mine near Steamboat Springs, is known to use PEDs. The industry is looking into adopting such technologies, said Stuart Sanderson, president of the Colorado Mining Association.

To further examine safety technologies, emergency response and rescue procedures, the National Mining Association has set up a Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission.

The commission will submit its findings by July 1.

Labor unions hope that laws such as West Virginia's, or a similar mining safety bill introduced Wednesday by the West Virginia delegation to Congress, will force mines to become more proactive.

"This legislation will give miners a fighting chance to survive situations like what happened at Sago," said Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, referring to the bill in Congress. "It will mean they will have access to oxygen and communications with the surface. It will mean faster response to accidents by mine rescue teams and the Mine Safety and Health Administration."

State's role diminished

Colorado once had enforcement powers over mines.

But the state law was repealed in 1988, partly because the industry didn't want to be regulated twice - by both the state and federal governments. In addition, the state's mine inspection and enforcement arm was losing funding because of a budget crisis.

Subsequently, the Division of Mines was dissolved. Instead, the state government shifted its focus to training and assistance through its Mine Safety and Training Program. Mines voluntarily participate in the program, which uses advanced materials and safety procedures.

But the state keeps a presence in mines in other ways, said Ron Cattany, deputy director of the state department of natural resources. Besides training miners in safety and rescue procedures, it approves reclamation permits at mine sites.

"I can understand why (mines) would not want to be regulated twice for the same thing," says Bill York-Feirn, who manages the state's safety training program. "But there are some advantages of having state regulation."

For instance, state inspectors in past years could either give a citation to a mine in case of a violation or just fix the problem right there. But federal inspectors are required by law to write citations in all cases, even for the slightest mistake.

The Elk Creek coal mine in Somerset, for example, received 350 citations last year from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency in charge of inspecting mines. Of those, only 35 were designated "significant and substantial citations."

The mine produced about 6 million tons of coal last year and employs about 300. Mine manager Cooper said the mine received citations for even minor oversights.

"I think MSHA citations should be about real safety issues and not frivolous things," Cooper said. "It ties up management time. We have to answer all those questions - time that could have been applied to safety issues."

Local mine rescue team

One area that could use extra focus is establishing a mine rescue team in the state, mine safety observers say.

MSHA maintains a rescue team for the region, which includes Colorado, but team members are dispersed in various offices and would have to be rounded up in case of an emergency.

MSHA does require each mine to train and maintain its own rescue teams or collaborate with nearby mines for help in serious accidents.

"I don't think mines can depend on them (federal and state governments) at all. They have to have their own teams or remain in close contact with others for help," said Ferriter of the School of Mines. "I think the mines in Colorado cooperate with each other very well. So I think the first line of rescue for mines are their own teams, and then teams from bigger mines if they can't handle it themselves."

In the early 1990s, state mine safety manager York-Feirn says, the state tried to put together a voluntary rescue team. But the effort flopped.

"It was difficult to get commitments from people. We couldn't get volunteers to the level we needed," York-Feirn said. "Also, it was expensive and time-consuming to buy all the equipment and do the training."

Reduction in injury rates

These safety issues will be the hot topic at the 108th National Western Mining Conference & Exhibition at the Denver Grand Hyatt hotel next week.

In fact, five companies including two coal producers, Kennecott Energy Co. and Trapper Mining Inc., will receive awards for safety achievements.

For example, Kennecott's Colowyo surface coal mine in Moffat produced more than 5 million tons in 2005 and worked over 580,000 hours without losing any work time due to an injury. The Trapper mine, also in Moffat County, worked 911 days and more than 784,000 hours without losing any work time related to a job injury.

"We have an excellent coal mining industry in the state, an industry that cares about its safety record," said CMA's Sanderson.

The average injury rates of Colorado underground coal mines was 5.90 percent per 200,000 man hours in 2004 as compared with the national average of 8.42 percent per 200,000 man hours.

Since 1995, Colorado mines have reduced their injury rate by 58 percent while coal production has increased by 65 percent.

In Sanderson's opinion, Colorado's coal mines do not need further state scrutiny. But the industry would consider improving communications at mines, look at safety practices and adopt newer technologies.

"It is important to remember that West Virginia obviously is reacting to a situation in the state," Sanderson said. "What I am saying is that there have been issues raised about whether the (West Virginia) legislation in question is appropriate for Colorado. We think no."

For comparison

153.6 million tons: Amount of coal mined in West Virginia. The state in the nation's second-largest producer and has 544 mines.

40 million tons: Amount of coal mined in Colorado. The state is the nation's sixth-largest producer and has eight underground and four surface mines.

chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2976

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