Protecting the lives of miners should be a priority for all

Everyone should be able to agree that underground mines are inherently dangerous places, but that companies and employees have an obligation to make them as safe as possible.

There shouldn’t be much debate that when the best-available safety practices aren’t followed, horrible things can happen. When miners die in avoidable accidents, their families suffer the greatest, of course. But companies and their shareholders don’t emerge from disaster unscathed. Mining companies are subject to fines, lawsuits, increasing worker compensation claims and the temporary or even permanent shutdown of facilities. Taxpayers are affected as well; the state of West Virginia’s state mine office has paid nearly $200,000 in overtime pay investigating its latest mine disaster, and the final report won’t be written for months

In short, there is plenty of incentive for everyone to do a better job, and yet evidence abounds that few are rising to the challenge.

Tragedy brings focus

There’s a new focus on mine safety following the April explosion that killed 29 men at West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine, the worst U.S. coal mining disaster since 1970. The mine, operated by Massey Energy Co., had a lengthy history of safety violations, but a computer error in the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s screening process for detecting the most dangerous mines allowed it to evade heightened scrutiny.

A computer glitch is an aberration, but the problems at MSHA are systemic.

Elliot Lewis, inspector general of the Labor Department, issued a report this week that said the MHSA has failed over a period covering three decades and all or part of five presidencies and 16 Congresses, to develop a reliable system for identifying mines with safety problems.

True reform is going to take congressional action, as well as an aggressive push from the White House. Getting Congress to act on anything is becoming increasingly difficult. We doubt that mine safety is the issue that will break the political logjam.

For all the reasons listed in the second paragraph, it shouldn’t be difficult to get companies, employees, unions and government behind an effort to improve mine safety. That it is difficult, if not nearly impossible, reflects poorly in all who are involved.