| Things look bleak for the six men trapped in the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. The latest attempts to get listening equipment into the mine have hit complications. The men been trapped since the mine collapsed on August 6.
The sins of Crandall Canyon Mine owner, Robert Murray, are well documented. According to a Salt Lake Tribune report, the mine had "received hundreds of citations in the past three years for breaching federal standards," which apparently is still considered a "good safety record" by federal authorities. Of course, that pales in comparison with an Illinois mine owned by Murray:
Murray's Galatia mine in southern Illinois racked up at least 2,787 violations and more than $2.4 million in proposed fines from the Mine Safety and Health Administration over a two-year span, according to government records. That includes more than $1.4 million in proposed fines already this year.
According to a consultant, the Crandall Canyon Mine experienced a similar collapse in the same part of the mine of the current cave in, which led some experts to question the mine's decision to continue work in that unstable area.
Murray's own reaction to the mine disaster only has added to the unseemliness of the incident and questions of mine safety:
On live television Tuesday morning, Murray turned an update on the Utah mine collapse into a platform for promoting the coal industry and his views of how it should operate. He specifically attacked the United Mine Workers union and mine safety advocates Davitt McAteer and Tony Oppegard, all of whom had told reporters of the dangers of "retreat mining" that the Crandall Canyon Mine employed.
To anyone who follows the coal industry closely, Murray's performance came as no surprise.
Murray has developed a reputation for taking on unions and battling environmentalists. He's become known for donating big money to Republican politicians, and for occasionally using his political ties to try to bully government regulators.
Murray's apparent indifference to the miners trapped in his mine combined with his arrogant anti-environmentalist screed has made him the perfect example of just why there are environmental regulations and why the government shouldn't be politicized: miners' lives are at risk, and we can't trust the mine industry to regulate itself.
But now the federal government will be investigating the Utah mine accident. Good news, right? Maybe we'll see a little justice and a little more attention paid to mine safety across the country, right?
Think again:
The man who will oversee the federal government's investigation into the disaster that has trapped six workers in a Utah coal mine for over a week was twice rejected for his current job by senators concerned about his own safety record when he managed mines in the private sector.
The International Herald Tribune:
Just as Hurricane Katrina forced Americans to look at the face of lingering poverty and racism, this mining tragedy should focus everyone on another forgotten, mistreated corner of society. The...mine disaster is far more than a story of cruel miscommunication. The dozen dead miners deserve to be memorialized with fresh scrutiny of the state of mine safety regulation.
Great comment. Only thing is, this was written in January 2006 in the wake of the Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia, which cost 12 men their lives.
Can you think of a more damning indictment of this administration and its ideological backers? |
