Labor Department Inspector General Finds Important Mine Safety Sanction Broken
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The process to identify and improve safety at the nation’s most dangerous mines is broken, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General reported today. According to the report, in the 32 years since the ‘pattern of violation’ sanction was enacted, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has never used this authority as the result of “lack of leadership and priority in the department across administrations.” U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Nick Rahall (D-WV), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) asked the inspector general in April to investigate MSHA’s procedures after MSHA disclosed that a computer error excluded the Upper Big Branch Mine from being notified that the mine may be under a so-called ‘pattern of violations’ (POV) sanction. Mines identified as having a ‘pattern of violations’ are considered serial violators of health and safety protections.
“The inspector general’s report confirms that the process to identify and impose sanctions against dangerous operators that repeatedly skirt mine laws is broken. Without meaningful legislative reforms, miners will remain in the crosshairs of reckless mine owners operating outside of the margins of safety,” said Miller. “The Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act passed by the committee will revamp this broken system. It will ensure that dangerous mines dramatically improve safety or be shut down until they improve.”
“By and large, most mine operators are looking out for the health and safety of their employees. The reforms to the ‘pattern of violations’ process are necessary to get at the small group of operators who continue to flout the law,” said Rahall. “This legislation is a fitting tribute to the memory of Robert C. Byrd, and to his legacy of helping to ensure the health and safety of miners in the coal fields.”
“The bottom line is that the administrative process for identifying serial violators of mine safety and health standards is totally ineffective and has been so since its creation,” said Woolsey. “If we are going to adequately protect miners from dangerous hazards, we need to turn this around, and can do so quickly by passing the Byrd bill.”
The report also found:
• MSHA did not screen or monitor plans submitted by mine operators to improve safety once they were notified that they potentially faced pattern of violation sanctions
• MSHA’s computer system contained errors that caused unreliable results when screening for mines that may be subject to pattern of violation sanctions
• Delays in testing rock dust samples could cause delays in identifying safety hazards. In fact, rock dust samples from the Upper Big Branch mine were not performed until after the April 5 explosion. One of the samples exceeded the allowable amounts of coal dust. The Byrd bill would require new monitoring technology to provide real time rock dust measurements.
In June, the inspector general reported that MSHA allowed 10 serially non-compliant mines to avoid being placed on a potential pattern of violation due to the lack of resources to implement the agency’s administrative requirements to place mines of a pattern of violations – many of which were located in West Virginia.
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