$afepro Editorial 5/23/2006

MSHA is again reactive

I am glad that MSHA will inspect alternative seals after Acting Assistant Secretary Dye stated, "MSHA is issuing a temporary moratorium on the construction of alternative seals to protect America’s underground coal miners following the second disaster this year in which these seals failed to withstand an explosion". The construction of alternative seals was allowed and the testing of atmospheres behind them mandated by a 1992 underground coal standard.

Before MSHA belatedly begins to impose its tardy effort, it appears to this observer that they should declare a two week "enforcement stand down", send their inspectors back to the Mine Academy and "ensure" that they know their own Law and enforcement policy. The agency could then better enforce their mandate’s requirements. They could proactively avert disaster instead of reactively waving newly unearthed ignored law after the Industry suffers injuries and deaths. Inspectors would realistically enforce the Law as written instead of having their credibility questioned because they fabricate standards and policy to produce questionable citations that reinforce their own inadequacies.

Is it wrong to assume that if MSHA inspectors had been aware of and enforcing the 14 year old standard prior to this year that perhaps at least one of these tragedies could have been avoided? Does it take two disasters before the agency managers discover the neglected standard?

Why are they not addressing the badly-functioning SCRS's, the need for lifelines so that U/G Miners can find their way out of dark smoky atmospheres, and what about "state-of-the art" 2-Way communications? It is time to quickly find solutions to life-threatening conditions and not to establish deniability for failures to properly enforce the Mandate!

Unnecessary new regulations are not needed. MSHA managers and inspectors' accurate, rigorous enforcement of existing standards, enforcement policy, and proactively pursuing 21^st century U/G safety equipment and procedures is!