One of the benefits of blogging at The Pump Handle is connecting with people who have first-hand experience with our nation’s inadequate public health protection system. We’ve heard from parents and wives who appreciate us writing about their loved ones’ fatal on-the-job injuries, and federal employees who share their unique experiences with how scientific information […]
by Celeste Monforton Yesterday in “MSHA Spokesman Parrots Bob Murray,” I wrote about MSHA’s rejection of a request by the families of the six trapped Crandall Canyon miners to have the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) serve as the miners’ representative during MSHA’s investigation of the disaster. As usual for me, about two hours […]
by Celeste Monforton Max Follmer of The Huffington Post reports that MSHA has rebuffed a request from the Crandall Canyon families to designate the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to serve as their representative during MSHA’s formal accident investigation. “In a statement e-mailed to The Huffington Post, MSHA spokesman Dirk Fillpot defended the agency’s actions, saying federal […]
The Mountain Eagle‘s Tom Bethell recounts a 1986 coal mining disaster in Queensland, Australia which involved an explosion in an abandoned, sealed area which caused the death of 12 miners. Its similarities to the 2006 Sago tragedy end there because, as Bethell writes: In the wake of that disaster, the Australian government launched an innovative program to […]
During one of Mr. Bob Murray’s endless television appearances, he was asked why his underground coal mine in Illinois had received more than 900 safety and health violations last year. In his “I’m just a humble coal miner” kind-of-way, he tried to explain that the public just doesn’t understand that getting written up by a mine inspector is commonplace, […]
Four months ago, Mr. Dale Jones, 51 and Mr. Michael Wilt, 38 were killed in a massive highwall collapse at a surface coal mine near Barton, Maryland. The two miners were buried under 93,000 tons of rock, and it took rescue crews three days to recover the men’s bodies.  This week, MSHA assessed a monetary penalty of $180,000 against the mine […]
If you haven’t seen it yet, go read Edward Cody’s Washington Post article on a recent Chinese mine disaster. It begins with a description from a survivor: XINTAI, China, Aug. 23 — The first sign of trouble was a stream of water that burst from a wall deep in the mine, Wang Kuitao recalled. Within […]
This time, it’s not an Act of God, but instead it just that Big, Bad Mountain. Owner/operator of the Crandall Canyon mine, Mr. Bob Murray said today: “Had I known that this evil mountain, this alive mountain, would do what it did, I would never have sent the miners in here.  I’ll never go near that mountain again.” We couldn’t make […]
These three men were killed while trying to rescue six miners trapped at Crandall Canyon in Utah: Dale Ray Black, 48, of Huntington, Utah (read more about him from the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret Morning News) Brandon Kimber, 29, of Price, Utah (read more about him from USA Today and the Washington Post) Gary […]
The Mountain Eagle’s Tom Bethell pulls no punches in today’s editorial with an in-your-face critique of the coal industry and their investment (not!) in safety technology. He writes: “Name five U.S. coal companies that have generously supported research to develop a two-way PED, hardened wireless two-way phone systems, and a tracking system capable of instantly locating […]