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Sunday, August 19, 2007

'What's Wrong with America?'

Congressional Probe Promised Of Mine Disaster
Salt Lake Tribune Thomas Burr and Robert Gehrke August 18, 2007 06:51 PM
Congress will investigate and hold hearings on the Utah mine disaster, several key congressional leaders vowed Friday after a second tragedy at the Crandall Canyon mine brought rescue operations to a halt.The chairwoman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees mine safety promised a congressional probe, as did the the head of the House Education and Labor Committee. Utah politicians also backed an investigation of what went wrong in the initial mine tunnel collapse and the subsequent rescue effort...
AFL-CIO President Reacts To Utah Tragedy
The disaster still unfolding at the Crandall Canyon mine did not have to happen. It was preventable--as were the deaths of 12 coal miners last year in the Sago Mine in West Virginia. As have been many, many more deaths of workers in America's coal mines and factories, fishing vessels, offices and construction sites.
Safety concerns about the Crandall Canyon mine surfaced months ago, and safety experts warned of particular dangers in the "retreat mining" technique used there after it was approved by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. In retreat mining, coalminers essentially pull out roof-supporting pillars of coal as they work their way out of the mine. The retreat mining plan at Crandall Canyon, says United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts, "appears to have been flawed, to say the least. In our opinion, that plan should never have been approved."
No one should be surprised it was approved, though. The Bush administration has been systematically dismantling and cutting funding for workplace safety rules and oversight since it came into office.
Robert L. Borosage, 08.17.2007
The Utah disaster wasn't random; it is the product of conditions just waiting to be added up. At Crandall Canyon, the miners were working at depths that test the limits of safety.
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