MSHA: Ill. underground coal mine imperils workers; operators ‘disregard’ violations
By Jim Suhr, APMonday, June 7, 2010
MSHA: Ill. coal mine imperils workers
ST. LOUIS — Federal regulators claim an Illinois underground coal mine is continuing to put workers in danger despite more than $230,000 in proposed fines since late 2008.
Those allegations have prompted a panel that decides disputed violations to hasten its review of the Big Ridge Inc.’s Willow Lake mine near Eqality, Ill.
The Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration said Monday it has been granted an expedited hearing by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.
Big Ridge’s parent company, St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp., insists it has taken “a continuous stem-to-stern review of all processes to identify improvement opportunities” at the mine.
|
June 8, 2010: 7:56 am
Let me get this straight - the Federal Agency that oversees the safety of America’s Miners, has admitted to the world that they, MSHA, know of a presumed dire hazard in a mine and have not withdrawn the Miners. How is this not any different then the mine operators knowing of a hazard and allowing their workers to continue working around the hazard? Heaven forbid, but if an accident occurs now, is not MSHA equally, if not more so, liable? |
Jeremiah