Meanwhile, Kentucky governor Ernest Fletcher has turned down a request by two widows of miners who died in Harlan County to allow their representatives to observe the state investigation of the May 20 fatal blast at the Kentucky Darby Mine No. 1. The two women are represented by attorney Tony Oppegard and United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) safety official Kenny Johnson.

The new Senate bill comes in response to the outcry by miners and their families against inadequate company safety measures.

According to a Harlan County coroner’s report, three of the workers at the Kentucky Darby mine survived the explosion but subsequently died from carbon monoxide poisoning after run ning out of air. Similarly, 11 of the 12 miners killed in January at the Sago Mine in West Virginia survived a blast but died from toxic gases after being trapped in the mine for 40 hours.

Paul Ledford, the only survivor of the May 20 disaster, said that his self-rescuer, which provides oxygen in case of emergency, stopped working after five minutes. And Randal McCloy, the only miner to survive the Sago Mine blast, has said that four of the air packs miners were carrying there failed.

The Senate bill would also require regular testing of the self-rescuers. “You can’t really test them until you use them,” Mack Williams, 22, who worked as a roof bolter in the Kentucky Darby Mine until he was laid off two months ago, told the Militant. Williams explained that the self-rescuers do not actually contain air but chemicals that when activated produce oxygen. “So you don’t know if it works until it works,” he said.

Investigators have initially concluded that the Darby explosion started in a sealed-off section of the mine. Three of the seals closing off this portion were blown out, state officials told the press. Federal mine safety officials have refused to enter the mine until the seals are repaired. State mine inspectors who had entered the mine have also withdrawn in light of the stance of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Until the 1990s seals were built of concrete blocks. MSHA has recently allowed mine owners to use a foam-type substance called Omega Block. These blocks are cheaper than concrete, lighter, and can be easily lifted by one person, allowing smaller crews to construct seals. Rescuers at the Darby mine reported these blocks did not withstand the blast, said a May 25 AP dispatch.

The recent spike in deaths in the mines coincides with a boom in demand for energy. Coal from Appalachia now sells for $64 a ton, three times its price three years ago. The Energy Information Administration said Appalachian coal production increased 2 percent last year. While hiring is up, “mining companies have been pushing to increase production, adding overnight and weekend shifts and generating more overtime hours for miners,” the Associated Press reported.

Mine bosses hired an additional 2,000 miners over the past two years in Kentucky and 3,000 in West Virginia. According to the Kentucky Department for Workforce Development, miners in that state work an average of 49.5 hours a week, which means some work 60 hours or more. Kentucky miners earn an average of $18.35 an hour.

As the coal bosses’ profits have increased, so have the number of deaths in the mines—33 since January 1 compared to 22 for all of 2005—as the Militant reported last week (see “Bosses’ profit greed kills six Kentucky miners”).

Attorney Oppegard sent a letter on May 29 on behalf of two of the miners’ widows, Priscilla Petra and Mary Middleton, requesting to be allowed to sit in on the investigation of the mine blast. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Oppegard wrote, “Mrs. Petra and Mrs. Middleton believe that they—more than anyone else—have the right to know as soon as possible exactly what happened to cause the deaths of their husbands.”

The letter was also signed by Kenny Johnson, a UMWA safety official, as a representative of the two women.

Investigators have subpoenaed some two dozen witnesses for questioning. Chuck Wolfe, a spokesman for Kentucky’s Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, confirmed that the miners’ families will not be allowed to sit in on the inquiry. He added that neither would company officials.

Oppegard disagreed, noting that company attorneys could represent some of those subpoenaed, essentially giving the owners a presence, which is being denied to the miners’ families.

The miners killed at the Kentucky Darby Mine No. 1 were Paris Thomas, Amon Brock, Jimmy Lee, Roy Middleton, and George Petra. One of their co-workers, Paul Ledford, survived.

A sixth Kentucky miner, Steven Bryant, died on the job at the Risner Branch No. 2 mine in Rousseau, Breathitt County. A water truck he was driving on the surface reportedly overturned and fatally crushed him May 23.

The next day, coal miner Todd Upton, 34, was killed while operating heavy equipment inside the Sycamore No. 2 mine in Jarvisville, West Virginia. Upton was struck on the head by a wooden plank while operating a scoop near the mine entrance, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He had worked as a miner for less than a year. The mine is owned by the International Coal Group, which also owns Sago just 56 miles away.

The Sycamore mine has been cited by MSHA for safety violations 49 times since January. These included failure to have proper guards on machinery and excessive amounts of coal dust. The company has been fined $4,494 for such infractions since 2005 but has paid only $1,520, reported the Associated Press.
 
 
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