Company recalls mine emergency air packs over problem with oxygen starter; feds investigating

Company recalls miners emergency air packs

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A breathing device that coal miners count on to save their lives during fires and other accidents is being recalled because of a problem with the oxygen starter.

CSE Corp. of Monroeville, Pa., issued a voluntary recall Friday and suspended production of the SR-100, the most popular self-contained self-rescuer unit in U.S. coal mines.

CSE said it is recalling the entire production lot of more than 4,000 units sold to mining companies operating in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. However, it believes the problem may affect less than 1 percent of those units.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are investigating.