State Safety

From: MetroNews (WV)

Mine safety is on the agenda for the legislature this week.

The Judiciary Committees will hold informational meetings to receive testimony on proposed legislation. The Senate will hold their meeting on Monday, the House on Tuesday. Both are set for 2pm.

The goal is to inform lawmakers about the findings into the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that claimed 29 lives on April 5, 2010 and to discuss proposed coal mine safety legislation.

Major changes were made to the state’s mine safety laws in 2006 after the disasters at Sago and Aracoma. But lawmaker say what they learned from the investigation into UBB … Continue Reading

From: The Register-Herald.com

By Mannix Porterfield

CHARLESTON — Tipping off an underground crew of an inspector’s arrival on coal mine property becomes a felony with a prison term of up to five years in Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s proposed comprehensive safety bill.

Offered Monday, the 54-page document also calls for pre-employment drug screens and demands quarterly checks of self-rescuers.

Tomblin made mine safety a major item in his State of the State address this month, citing the April 5, 2010, tragedy at a Raleigh County coal mine.

Twenty-nine miners perished in a massive explosion that shook the sprawling Upper Big Branch mine that day.

(PRWEB) January 23, 2012

Remember The Miners, the non-profit public awareness campaign dedicated to telling the story of America’s real source of energy – the coal miner – is excited to announce it eclipsed its fundraising goal of $40,000 for the event. Proceeds of the event benefit both Remember The Miners Scholars Program and the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund at West Virginia University.

The event, which was held at the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 1444 in Charleston, WV, attracted many folks to celebrate coal mining in West Virginia and pay tribute to Remember The … Continue Reading

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — 2011 marked the second straight year without a work-related fatality in Pennsylvania’s underground and coal mining industries, Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Krancer announced today. He noted that a combination of increased oversight, industry practices and a vigilant labor force played a crucial role in this safety achievement.

“The mining industry is a vibrant and vital part of Pennsylvania’s economy, and the safety of the workers is paramount,” Krancer said. “We are proud to be the world’s leader in mining safety, and we are particularly proud of Pennsylvania’s contribution to that. … Continue Reading

From: The Charleston Gazette

By Ken Ward Jr.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin promised Wednesday night to seek more state mine safety improvements, but his list of proposals fell short of what independent investigators have said is needed to truly reform West Virginia’s mining operations.

In a State of the State address that repeated Tomblin’s strong allegiance to the coal industry, the governor also outlined his legislative response to investigative findings concerning the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster.

“Just as we must continue to mine coal, we must make certain that our miners are safe,” Tomblin said.

From: WYMT-TV/Mountain News

                                  
In all, 21 miners died in the U.S. in 2011. Most of those miners were killed in Kentucky.

From: AP

FRANKFORT, Ky. —Coal miners sickened by years of inhaling black dust on the job have been subjected to an unconstitutional system of medical screenings to qualify for worker’s compensation, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

A sharply divided high court decided that Kentucky has violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law by requiring miners suffering from coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, better known as black lung, to undergo a litany of tests that workers in other occupations aren’t subjected to when they apply for worker’s comp benefits.

From: Charleston Daily Mail

by Ry Rivard
Daily Mail Capitol Reporter

West Virginia’s former top mine regulator told Upper Big Branch disaster investigators “you had to blow something up” before state lawmakers would pay attention to mine safety.

Ron Wooten, the former head of the state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training during much of former Gov. Joe Manchin’s administration, said he did not believe his agency had the proper manpower, equipment or material to do its job.

Wooten’s brutally frank assessment of his own agency and the Legislature came during a February interview that … Continue Reading

From: Courrier-Journal.com

FRANKFORT, KY. — The director of the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing, who has earned high marks from both safety advocates and industry experts, is retiring this month after more than two decades with the state.

A spokesman for the state Energy and Environment Cabinet confirmed that Johnny Greene submitted his retirement to Cabinet Secretary Len Peters on Tuesday, citing plans to spend more time with family.

Greene worked in various positions at the office over 21 years and has spent a total of more than 40 years in the mining industry.

From: Charleston Daily Mail

The New River Community and Technical College will offer several mine safety classes in Summersville.

The classes will prepare participants for a certification exam. The exam will be administered at the conclusion of each class.

A 40-hour surface mine safety pre-employment training class will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 23 to 27. A second class will be offered from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays from Feb. 21 to March 7.

Two 80-hour underground mine safety pre-employment training classes will be offered. One will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 9 to … Continue Reading