Monday, October 16, 2006
Federal Laws May Hamper Mine Safety Efforts
Rescue teams responsible for finding coal miners trapped underground get some tough assignments, including one pinned on them by Congress earlier this year.
That's what Kentucky officials are saying about a new federal law that requires rescue teams to conduct two drills per year at every coal mine.
Although it may sound like a cakewalk, Susan Bush, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources, warned that the requirement may force her to disband state rescue teams made up of mine inspectors, safety analysts and trainers.
With 260 underground mines in Kentucky, the state rescue teams would have to spend so much time drilling that their members would have little time left to perform their daily duties.
"There's no way our agency can do two drills in every mine we cover," Bush told a state legislative committee last week. "If indeed it looks like the state mine rescue teams have to do a drill in every mine they cover twice a year, the state of Kentucky is not going to be in the mine rescue business very long."
The Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing has 11 rescue teams spread through the coalfields so that they're within an hour's drive of any mine in the state.
That's what Kentucky officials are saying about a new federal law that requires rescue teams to conduct two drills per year at every coal mine.
Although it may sound like a cakewalk, Susan Bush, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources, warned that the requirement may force her to disband state rescue teams made up of mine inspectors, safety analysts and trainers.
With 260 underground mines in Kentucky, the state rescue teams would have to spend so much time drilling that their members would have little time left to perform their daily duties.
"There's no way our agency can do two drills in every mine we cover," Bush told a state legislative committee last week. "If indeed it looks like the state mine rescue teams have to do a drill in every mine they cover twice a year, the state of Kentucky is not going to be in the mine rescue business very long."
The Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing has 11 rescue teams spread through the coalfields so that they're within an hour's drive of any mine in the state.
# posted by Justin Mullins @ 8:07 AM 
