CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Most of West Virginia's 544 coal mines are expected to follow a request from Gov. Joe Manchin to conduct safety checks before continuing operations, after two mine workers were killed in separate accidents on the same day.þþAn industry group that represents 80 percent of the state's coal producers said its members would comply.þþ''They were interrupting the shifts if they were in a working shift,'' said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association.þþSpokeswoman Lara Ramsburg said Manchin does not have the authority to shut down mines that do not heed the safety check request, but she was unaware of any companies refusing to do so.þþBoth of Wednesday's accidents occurred in Boone County, about 50 miles south of the state capital. State mine safety officials said a bulldozer operator was killed at the Black Castle Surface Mine operated by Massey Energy Co. subsidiary Elk Run Coal Co. in Uneeda. An underground miner died after a wall support failed at Long Branch Energy's No. 18 Tunnel Mine in Wharton, officials said.þþThe accidents brought to 16 the number of mining-related deaths in West Virginia since Jan. 2, and the first at a surface operation. Only three mining-related fatalities occurred in 2005, a record low for the state.þþBeyond the safety checks, Manchin also told state mine regulators to speed up their mine inspection schedule and review all 229 surface and 315 underground mines immediately.þþDavid Dye, acting U.S. assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, later urged coal mines nationwide to conduct safety and training sessions on Monday for workers at the beginning of each shift.þþNews of the deaths came just before Manchin's office filed the emergency rules needed to carry out the mine safety law he signed last week. The legislation, passed in a single day by state lawmakers, was in response to January's fatal accidents, including the explosion that killed 12 at Sago Mine in Upshur County.þþThe sole survivor of the Sago disaster, Randal McCloy Jr., is recovering at a Morgantown rehabilitation hospital.þþThe new safety law requires coal companies to provide miners with emergency communicators and tracking devices, and to store extra air supplies underground. That legislation also mandates that companies report mine accidents within 15 minutes or face a $100,000 penalty.þþWest Virginia's congressional delegation followed up those efforts Wednesday. They introduced legislation that would require the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration to toughen fines, enforce existing rules and issue new ones to give trapped miners a better chance of surviving fires, explosions and cave-ins.þþThe mines where Wednesday's accidents occurred had different safety records. The Long Branch mine employs around 59 people and produced 371,844 tons of coal last year, according to MSHA. Eight workers were injured during the first nine months of 2005. When measured by hours worked, the mine's injury rate was more than two and a half times the national average for a mine of that type, according to MSHA figures.þþFederal inspectors issued 50 citations against the mine last year. While penalties have yet to be proposed for 13 of those citations, penalties for the others total $3,677.þþThe Black Castle mine has about 186 workers and yielded 2.7 million tons of coal last year, MSHA figures show. With only two employees injured during the first three quarters of 2005, its injury rate fell below the national average for that mine type. It was issued 63 citations in 2005, resulting in $14,830 in penalties.þþ
Source: NY Times
