Mine Safety
Mining is one of the nation’s most dangerous jobs. Since 1900, 104,722 Americans have died in coal mining accidents (23,608 in non-coal sectors) while hundreds of thousands have died from black lung, an incurable lung disease brought on by consistent inhalation of coal dust. The first federal mine safety law was passed in 1910, and the government has slowly added new laws every few decades since, usually in the wake of disaster. In 1977, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) was created to promulgate, monitor and enforce safety regulations.
Commentary
Massey CEO: "It's (Always) The Government's Fault"
Cry Wolf Quotes
There are on an average 1,000 men who lose their lives in the coal mines annually. Ninety percent of the men lose their lives in the ordinary accidents, accidents in which the individual plays an important role usually. The other 10 percent lose their lives as a result of what we call mine disasters. Those disasters are preventable. They are almost in every case not caused by some action of the individual workman.
Mr. Ankeny, a former director of the Bureau of Mines, has made the statement publicly that passage of bills would not be expected to reduce the accident rate. Therefore, how can we, in logic or in good conscience, say that we are going to pass…a bill to improve the safety record, when two previous directors of the Bureau of Mines said that passage of laws would not reduce the accident rate?
In recent years the accident record in the bituminous coal industry has continued to improve. The bituminous coal industry is to be congratulated on its accomplishments to date; given the opportunity, it will make further progress. This is a matter of constant education and not one that requires arbitrary legislation.
More money could be available for worker safety and health if we cut back on bureaucratic administration, because an OSHA/MSHA merger would end duplicative costs, duplicative employees and duplicative actions.
Related Laws and Rules
- Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969
- Coal Mine Safety Act of 1952
- Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (MINER)
- Mine Safety Act of 1910
- Mine Safety Act of 1941
- Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
- Mine Safety Code of 1946-47
- Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act
- Safety and Health Improvement and Regulatory Reform Act of 1995
Evidence
- Occupational Health and Safety Regulation in the Coal Mining Industry: Public Health at the Workplace (Subscription Required)
- Underground Coal Mining Accidents and Government Enforcement of Safety Regulations
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Fatality Rates and Regulatory Policies in Bituminous Coal Mining, United States, 1959-1981
This study looks a coal mining deaths in the decade leading up to the game-changing Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, and then examines what happened in the decade after passage. The key take way: "For the period from 1950 to 1969, there was no decline in fatality rates among underground miners. For the period from 1970 to 1980, there was a significant decline in fatality rates."
Backgrounders & Briefs
2011 Death on the Job
The AFL-CIO's annual report about death, illness, and injury at work.
Resources
The Charleston Gazette's blog Coal Tattoo, written by veteran reporter Ken Ward Jr., is a cutting edge blogon the coal industry.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is the goverment agency responsible for the regulation of America's mines.
