Protecting Miner Safety & Health
Committee Introduces Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010
Despite progress over the last several decades, mining remains one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. On April 5, 2010, a massive explosion ripped through Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, killing 29 miners and injuring others. Tools the Mine Safety and Health Administration could use to hold bad mine operators like Massey accountable were rendered ineffective because of indiscriminate mine operator appeals of violations and weak laws. The Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 (H.R. 5663) would provide stronger tools to ensure that mine operators with troubling safety records improve safety, empower workers to speak up about safety concerns and give the Department of Labor the tools it needs to ensure that all workers go home safely at the end of the day.Committee Investigates Upper Big Branch Mine Tragedy
The Committee held a field hearing in Beckley, West Virginia to investigate the worst mining tragedy in the U.S. in almost four decades. On April 5, an explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia killed 29 miners and injured others.Reducing the Growing Backlog of Contested Mine Safety Cases
On February 23, 2010, the Committee held a hearing to assess whether a backlog of mine safety enforcement actions are adversely impacting the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s ability to protect miners’ safety and prevent future tragedies, and to evaluate options to remedy the problem.In early 2010, there was a rapidly growing number of mine safety enforcement cases pending before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), a small independent agency which provides administrative trial and appellate review of contested citations, penalties, and worker retaliation cases. As the result of stepped-up enforcement and tougher penalties after a spate of mine tragedies in 2005 and 2006, mine owners tripled the number of violations they appeal and are now litigating 67 percent of all penalties. The backlog of cases FMSHRC must review jumped from 2,100 in 2006 to approximately 16,000 as of February 2010.
Committee Investigates Crandall Canyon Mine Tragedy
On
August 6, 2007, the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah became the site of the
worst coal mining tragedy of 2007. The Committee launched an
investigation immediately after the disaster, finding it likely that
the tragedy was the result of a flawed plan for conducting retreat
mining in the area of the mine where the deaths occurred. More »
Mine Safety Measure Passed by House
The House passed the S-MINER Act on January 16, 2008. This
mine safety and health legislation 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.
Chairman Miller’s statement on the legislation »
Summary of the legislation (UPDATED 1/11/08) »
Full text of the legislation »
Letters of support »
Other Mine Safety News
- Miner Safety Bill Will Save Lives, Ensure Culture of Safety, Witnesses tell House Committee
- House Democrats Introduce Landmark Miner Safety Legislation
- House and Senate Democrats Announce Summary of Major Safety Reforms for Mines and Other Dangerous Workplaces
- MSHA Knowingly Overlooked Mines With Serious Safety Records, Labor Inspector General Reports to Chairman Miller
- Chair Miller Opening Remarks on Testimony from Families of the Upper Big Branch Mine Tragedy
- House Grants Education and Labor Committee Deposition Authority Relating to Mine Health and Safety
- Chairs Miller and Woolsey Call on Mine Operators to Take Immediate Steps to Make Safety a Top Priority
- Chairman Miller Statement on Mine Death at International Coal Group’s Pocahontas Mine in West Virginia
- Chairman Miller Statement on President Obama’s Comments on Mine Safety
- Chair Miller Releases List of Dangerous Mines Escaping Tighter Scrutiny
- Chairs Miller, Rahall, Woolsey Call for IG Investigation of MSHA Penalty Enforcement System
- Chairs Miller and Woolsey Statement on the West Virginia Mine Tragedy
- Backlog of Mine Operator Appeals of Safety Violations Undermines Worker Safety, Witnesses Tell House Committee
- Chairman Miller Statement on One Year Anniversary of the Crandall Canyon Mine Collapse
- Chairman Miller Statement on MSHA Report on Crandall Canyon Mine Tragedy
- Chairman Miller Announces Findings of Investigation into Crandall Canyon Mine Tragedy
- Miners Still Lack Essential Safety Protections, Says GAO Report
- House Approves Comprehensive Legislation to Make Work Safer for Miners
- Chairman Miller Statement on the Supplementary Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act
- Chairman Miller Statement on White House Veto Threat of Mine Safety and Health Legislation
- Mining Families, Worker Organizations, Public Health Experts Lend Support to Mine Safety Legislation
- Crandall Canyon Families Testify at House Labor Committee Hearing »
- Committee Releases Background Document on Mine Safety and Health »
- Mine Health and Safety Initiative Introduced in House »
- Committee Hearing: MSHA Must Be More Aggressive in Protection of Miners »
- Committee Hearing on Mine Safety: MSHA Needs to be Held Accountable to Enforce Mine Safety Laws, Witnesses
Say »
- Refuge chambers should be required in coal mines across the country, Chairman Miller says »
- Chairman Miller Urges Chao to Protect Miners, Not Mine Operators »
- Committee Report: MINER Act Implementation Proceeding Too Slowly »
- Mine Disasters in 2006 »