Monday, April 12, 2010
(photo: Steven Damron, flickr)
In the wake of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia, the United States’ worst mining disaster in four decades, media scrutiny has turned to the federal agency whose mission is to prevent such accidents from happening
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is “fundamentally weak in several areas, and it does not always use the powers it has,” according to an in-depth review by The New York Times. The expose also found the MSHA rarely closes down mines deemed unsafe, gives out insignificant fines, many of which go uncollected, and lacks subpoena power.
Of the $123 million in major fines levied against the industry since 2005, only 8% (or $10.2 million) have been collected “partly because mine owners began challenging fines more routinely when the agency threatened to increase enforcement for repeat offenders,” writes the Times.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that mining companies have “clogged” the appeals process in their efforts to avoid paying citations, “allowing 32 coal mines to avoid tougher enforcement measures last year.”
Five of those mines are owned by Massey Energy, which also owns Upper Big Branch. Massey has reportedly contested more federal safety fines than any other coal mining company in the country.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
In Mine Safety, a Meek Watchdog (by Michael Cooper, Gardiner Harris and Eric Lipton, New York Times)
Mines Avoid Crackdowns by Challenging Safety Citations (by Kimberly Kindy, Steven Mufson and Ed O'Keefe, Washington Post)
Mine Safety Agency Issued Report Warning of Poor Inspector Training 5 Days Before West Virginia Explosion (by David Wallechinsky and Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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