The Mine Safety and Health Administration claims that eight days after a disaster that claimed the lives of 29 miners, it still does not have an official list of the miners who died in the explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, W.Va.
Under the mining laws, every miner who goes to work underground must be accounted for in case a mine accident occurs, or the miner goes missing in a shift while working underground. It's a standard check-in/check-out system that has been used for years.
In addition, MSHA has always required that this information be reported to and recorded by the agency within 48 hours for inclusion in a preliminary accident report.
But as of this writing, the 29 miners remain officially nameless, except to their bosses at the Upper Big Branch mine.
MSHA spokewoman Amy Louviere informed Mine Safety and Health News Washington correspondent Kathy Snyder yesterday:
We don't yet have the names of the victims.
Snyder wrote back:
Why doesn't MSHA have the names of the victims, may I ask? Didn't MSHA ask the company for this info?
Louviere's reply:
Company hasn't yet provided.
Snyder notes that she worked at MSHA for more than 25 years -- including as information officer in mine accidents and investigations -- and has covered mine safety stories for almost six years since then. She has never heard of the names of mine accident victims being kept secret once their families were properly notified.
To the best of my knowledge, it has been standard practice for mine agencies to obtain the victim or victims' names from the mine operator in any fatal mine accident or prolonged entrapment. What in the world is going on?
Good question, Kathy.
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, Sec. 317(p)
Each operator of a coal mine shall establish a check-in and check-out system which will provide positive identification of every person underground, and will provide an accurate record of the persons in the mine kept on the surface in a place chosen to minimize the danger of destruction by fire or other hazard. Such record shall bear a number identical to an identification check that is securely fastened to the lamp belt worn by the person underground. The identification check shall be made of a rust resistant metal of not less than sixteen gauge.
Ellen Smith is the award-winning editor of Mine Safety and Health News, a print-only newsletter covering the mining industry. She has been covering mining issues since 1987.