Mine Safety and Health Administration and Federal Judiciary Engagement: Why Never May Be Better than Later
![handle is hein.journals/ubenv18 and id is 267 raw text is: RECENT DEVELOPMENT
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION AND FEDERAL
JUDICIARY ENGAGEMENT: WHY NEVER MAY BE BETTER THAN
LATER
I. Introduction
The explosion at the Massey Upper Branch Mill underground coal
mine in April 2010 claimed the lives of twenty-nine coal miners' and
belied the fact that mining deaths and injuries had declined signifi-
cantly in this century.2 Although the job of coal and mineral mining
is considered one of the world's most dangerous occupations,' greater
cooperation among industry, labor, and government officials contrib-
uted to making underground coal mining safer.' Despite gaining
strides in safety, the United States Department of Labor Mine Safety
and Health Administration (MSHA) and safety professionals in the
American mining community at large opined that the relatively low
number and frequency of mining injuries were still unacceptable.'
The Massey incident, which was by far the worst mining accident in
the United States (U.S.) over the last forty years,' best exemplifies
the need for further improvements in mining safety and regulation.
The Massey mine had a history of many critical safety violations, in-
1. Ian Urbina, No Survivors Found After West Virginia Mine Disaster, N.Y. TIMES,
Apr. 9, 2010, at A10, available at http://www.nytimescom/2010/04/10/us/
10westvirginia.html.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/06/west-vir-
ginia-mine-explos-n_526810.html.
2. Injury Trends in Mining, MSHA.Gov, http://www.msha.gov/msha.gov/msha
info/factsheets/mshafct2.htm (last visited Apr. 25, 2011).
3. Id.
4. Id. Major elements contributing to improvements in mining safety include
[1] the creation of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, whose primary roles were to
investigate accidents, advise industry, conduct production and safety re-
search and teach courses in accident prevention, first aid and mine rescue;
[2] Federal and state laws to better advise and regulate the mining industry,
to extend coverage to all types of miners, to require or encourage use of
successful safety procedures and technology, to provide effective miner
training, and to focus on reducing or eliminating the most serious hazards.
The most far-reaching laws were the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety
Act of 1969 and the more comprehensive Federal Mine Safety and Health
Act of 1977. Id.
5. Id.
6. Urbina, supra note 1.
263](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/ubenv18&div=15&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Mine Safety and Health Administration and Federal Judiciary Engagement: Why Never May Be Better than Later
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most