Rahall: Sago Mine Disaster Report Showcases MSHA Failures

RAHALL: SAGO MINE DISASTER REPORT SHOWCASES MSHA FAILURES

WASHINGTON, D.C. - After reviewing the preliminary report on the Sago Mine Disaster released today by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) traced the root of the tragedy to the glaring failure of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to enforce federal mine health and safety standards.

"No matter what sparked the explosion at Sago, the lack of a forward-thinking and assertive willingness to enforce the law at the upper echelons of the Mine Safety and Health Administration is equally to blame for the deaths of those twelve men," Rahall stated.

"The fact that this investigation could not conclusively determine the cause of the blast at Sago is far less important than understanding and pursuing remedies to the numerous failings at MSHA that this tragedy brought to light," he added.

Rahall said the Sago tragedy and the subsequent fire at the Aracoma Alma Mine in Logan County, where two miners perished, reawakened the Nation to the harsh conditions that coal miners must endure. These events brought to light the fact that MSHA has allowed our Nation to fall behind foreign competitors in providing our miners with life-saving technologies.

"Had sufficient oxygen been available, those miners who barricaded themselves would not have perished. Had a better seal been erected between the abandoned and working portions of that mine, that tragedy might well have been averted altogether," said Rahall. "MSHA had plenty of authority to address these shortcomings, but it chose not to."

Rahall said that the findings in the Sago report are significant for coal mines throughout West Virginia and the Nation.

"When violations pile up, it is a sure sign of a lax safety program at a mine and weak enforcement by the agency charged with miners' safety," he noted.

"When violations pile up, it is a sure sign of a lax safety program at a mine and weak enforcement by the agency charged with miners' safety," he noted.

In response to the rise in mine deaths this year, Rahall, along with the rest of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation, pushed major mine safety legislation through Congress. That bill, signed into law on June 15, directly addresses most of the recommendations contained in the Sago report and sets MSHA on a new path toward a more aggressive role in safety enforcement.

"I appreciate the leadership of Governor Manchin, and the dedication of his special advisor Davitt McAteer, in the preparation of this report on the Sago Mine tragedy. I commend all those who worked so hard for many months to shed light on the tragedy at Sago," Rahall concluded.

http://www.house.gov/list/press/ii00_democrats/sagomine.html