regulation
sb admin | August 24, 2007Â by Susan F. Wood, PhD
 The last week of August is full of anniversaries for me, both public and personal. On August 24, it has been one year since the partial approval of Plan B emergency contraception over-the-counter (OTC) for those over 18 years old. Two days later on August 26 is the 87th anniversary of the day that women got the right to vote, Womenâs Equality Day. It also is the 2nd anniversary of the day that FDA leadership once again denied the approval of Plan B OTC despite all of the evidence and support within FDA for its approval. August 31st, just 5 days later, marks…
sb admin | August 24, 2007Four months ago, Mr. Dale Jones, 51 and Mr. Michael Wilt, 38 were killed in a massive highwall collapse at a surface coal mine near Barton, Maryland. The two miners were buried under 93,000 tons of rock, and it took rescue crews three days to recover the men's bodies. Â
This week, MSHA assessed a monetary penalty of $180,000 against the mine operator Tri-Star Mining, Inc. (Their accident investigation report was issued six weeks ago.)Â
In a news release announcing the fine, MSHA's Assistant Secretary Richard Stickler said:
"Two miners lost their lives because federal safety…
sb admin | August 22, 2007The Mountain Eagle's Tom Bethell pulls no punches in today's editorial with an in-your-face critique of the coal industry and their investment (not!) in safety technology. He writes:
"Name five U.S. coal companies that have generously supported research to develop a two-way PED, hardened wireless two-way phone systems, and a tracking system capable of instantly locating miners. You canât, because none has."
"Worse yet, the coal industry isnât spending a dime to help undercapitalized entrepreneurs move their promising products from bench-testing to mine-testing and then through the final…
sb admin | August 21, 2007Mr. Eleazar Torres-Gomez, 46, was killed at an Oklahoma Cintas laundry plant on March 6, 2007, when he was dragged into an industrial dryer because of an unguarded conveyor. Federal OSHA investigated the fatality and, this week, proposed a $2.78 million penalty for, among other things, 42 willful violations of its lockout/tagout standard.
OSHA's Asst. Secretary stated:
"Plant management at the Cintas Tulsa laundry facility ignored safety and health rules that could have prevented the death of the employee."
The CEO of Cintas, Scott Farmer, expressed the familiar:
"Any accident is one too…
sb admin | August 20, 2007When MSHA's Gary Jensen, 53, died last week in a rockburst at the Crandall Canyon mine, it had been 26 years since a federal mine inspector had died in the line of duty. Mr. Jensen joined MSHA in 2001 as an inspector. He had worked for nearly 30 years as a coal miner, and was especially skilled in roof control.Â
He is survived by a wife and four children, with one remarking that one of his father's trademarks was putting himself before others. Â
In a 2003 document marking MSHA's 25th anniversary, the agency offered a small tribute to the 16 federal inspectors who lost their…
sb admin | August 17, 2007MSHA reports:
"At approximately 8:39 pm (EDT) Thursday night, a significant bounce occurred at the mine. Three rescue workers are confirmed dead, including one MSHA inspector. Six others remain hospitalized. At this time, all rescue efforts have been suspended."
The MSHA inspector who was fatally injured in this latest coal-pillar rockburst was Mr. Gary Jensen, who worked out the MSHA's Price, Utah office. Gary was a member of MSHA's mine rescue team. Before joining MSHA, he worked as a coal miner for SUFCO Coal and had also been part of that company's mine rescue team.
Another…
sb admin | August 16, 2007Join an on-line chat at 1:00 pm today (8/16) on technology to locate trapped miners.
On day 11, the rescue efforts continue for the six trapped miners at a Utah coal mine. A third borehole (2") punctured the mine workings yesterday afternoon to allow a camera to be lowered into the mine to scan for any sign of the miners. With each borehole drilled and each camera-search, the questions being repeated across the nation are "where are the miners?" and "why don't we know more precisely where they are in the mine?"Â
After the Sago disaster, family members, worker advocates and coal…
sb admin | August 15, 2007by Tom Bethell                                                                                                     (Posted with permission from The Mountain Eagle, Whitesburg, KY)
As we go to press, six coal miners remain trapped in Murray Energyâs Crandall Canyon Mine, near Huntington, Utah. Nothing has been heard from them since a portion of the mine caved in on August 6, and the heartbreakingly slow efforts to reach them have yielded no sign of whether they are alive. We join with mining…
sb admin | August 14, 2007In "Memo shows mine already had roof problems," (Aug 12) the Salt Lake Tribune's Robert Gehrke first reported on a history of rockbursts at the Crandall Canyon mine.* I first learned this on NPR's Morning Edition (Aug 14) when Frank Langfitt reported that in March of this year, another severe rockburst occurred at the Crandall Canyon coal mine. Apparently, no miners were injured by that mining "bump," which Langfitt described "like an explosion as the floor buckles and coal shoots out from the pillars that hold up the ceiling," but the situation was severe enough, that Murray …
sb admin | August 13, 2007OSHA's Area Office in Pittsburgh issued 46 citations, including 16 repeat violations and one willful against Shane Felter Industries, Inc. of Uniontown, PA. A proposed penalty of $166,400 accompanied the citations.  OSHA's Area Director Robert Szymanski said:
"Shane Felter Industries' refusal to remove hazards ultimately threatens the safety and health of its employees. It is imperative that this employer correct these violations to prevent a potential tragedy."
The company has 62 employees.
The offending firm fabricates steel beams used in bridge and road construction. A quick…
sb admin | August 11, 2007by Ken Ward, Jr. (This item first appeared on Nieman Watchdog; posted with permission)
Often after accidents like the one at Crandall Canyon, Utah, mine operators claim their mines had relatively few violations. Even if thatâs trueâand often it isnâtâârelatively fewâ just isnât good enough in a risky venture like coal mining. As I write this, the news out of Crandall Canyon, Utah, is not looking good. The Associated Press reports that a tiny microphone lowered deep into the earth early Friday picked up no evidence that six coal miners caught in cave-in four days ago were still alive. …
sb admin | August 9, 2007Marty Bennett was a coal miner with 29 years of experience, including work at operations that practiced "retreat mining." He died at age 51 at the Sago mine in January 2006, along with 11 other coal miners. Today, his family organized a letter of support for the Crandall Canyon miners' families from victim-families of previous coal mining fatalities. Their letter was published in the Salt Lake City Tribune. (Full text below) Â
To the families,Â
Not many people can actually say what your hearts are feeling. We want you to know that this family can. We are the family of…
sb admin | August 7, 2007More than 1,900 miles separate the Sago Baptist Church in Buckhannon, WV and the Emery County Senior Citizens Center in Huntington, UT. But the cavalcade of feelings from fear and hope, to uncertainty and despair is something only those who've been in their shoes can understand. In January 2006, it was the families of 12 trapped WV miners who were waiting and praying; today it is six families at a Utah community center. The families in Buckhannon wanted 12 miracles, but there was only one: Mr. Randall McCloy.  If we hear a joyful announcement "They're Alive," I've no doubt that…
sb admin | August 7, 2007As I stay tuned for news on the fate of the six coal miners trapped at the Crandall Canyon mine in Emery County, Utah I've heard numerous tv and radio reporters say "hundreds of mine rescuers" have converged near the worksite to assist with the rescue operation. Who are these "mine rescuers"?
They include the official mine-rescue teams, typically a 6-person group especially trained and equipped to enter a mine after an explosion, fire, roof fall or other catastrophe occurs, as well as scores of other individuals with specialized knowledge or equipment to assist with the rescue…
sb admin | August 1, 2007
June and July 2007 has been a dangerous and deadly ones for 13 U.S. miners, and their families and co-workers left behind. So far this summer, 6 mine workers have died at metal mining operations, 4 workers employed at stone quarries and 3 coal miners.  These 11 men were working at mining operations in 11 different States: Alabama, Alaska, California, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon and Tennessee.     Â
As Mike Wright of the United Steelworkers reminded participants at a recent congressional hearing on mine safety, (his oral statement and…
sb admin | August 1, 2007The Boston Globe, home town paper of Senator Ted Kennedy, Chair of the Senate Health, Environment, Labor and Pensions Committee, ran two important commentaries on the FDA this week.
 First was an editorial  yesterday strongly urging Congress to pass a strong FDA reform bill, including restricting financial conflicts of interests for advisory committee members.
Today the Globe ran an oped coauthored by David Michaels and me, again calling for leaders in Congress to ensure that the final bill (it is now in "conference" between the House version and the Senate version) come out as strong …
sb admin | July 31, 2007In a post last week entitled Mining Professors Oppose Mine Safety Bill, I invited the signatories of a letter opposing new mine safety legislation to disclose their financial ties to the mining industry (if any) or other related conflicts of interest.  A couple of days later, one of the letter's signers, Larry Grayson, PhD of Penn State University, responded thoughtfully and thoroughly (here and here) to my post.  I respectfully invite the other signatories to follow Dr. Grayson's lead and provide their own disclosures.
Professor Grayson, who holds the George H., Jr. and Anne…
sb admin | July 25, 2007A group of 11 "academic experts in mine safety and health" sent a letter today to the leadership of the House Education and Labor Committee urging them to withdraw legislation (HR 2768 and HR 2769) on miners' safety and health. The authors of the letter say that "now is not the right time to pursue" further improvements for miners.
Signers of the letters include several chairs of mining engineering departments, such as professor Larry Grayson, who offered just days ago a similar dire warning about more mine safety protections in an op-ed called Mine Mania (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/22/07).…
sb admin | July 19, 2007This week, OSHA posted on its website a case study designed to show the benefits of implementing a comprehensive workplace safety and health program. In announcing the case study, Assistant Secretary Edwin Foulke, Jr said the report âis a good example of what can happen when management and employees dedicate themselves to workplace safety and health.â The news release's quote from the company was equally positive "...safety is part of our culture, and we have had measurable results over the past 5 years." But, the Foulke-promoted report has a familiar blame the worker tone, even…
sb admin | July 18, 2007By David Michaels
Weâve gotten news that Republicans in the House are planning to introduce a very destructive amendment to the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill, probably later today. This amendment will have a devastating impact on NIOSH's research program, and it is important that we act to stop it.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) will offer an amendment to restrict NIH's contribution to the Section 241a Public Health Service Act Evaluation Fund. This fund is the entire source of support for the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) program, a highly successful public-private…