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by Kathy Snyder, cross-posted from MineSafetyWatch
All of our hearts are so full this morning with the sad news that the last four missing miners were found dead. In all, 29 miners have died from the explosion. It is the worst coal mining accident in some 40 years. (The Finley No. 15 & 16 explosion near Hyden, Ky., with 38 dead, was in December 1970. That is so long ago…I was only 18 and don’t even remember anything in the news about it. In the metal mining sector, the Sunshine silver mine fire claimed 91 lives as recently as 1972.)
Words can’t begin to express the grief. Nor can words express the respect for family members who held on staunchly to hope and the rescuers who persisted in the face of daunting setbacks.
I feel grateful that at least, it seems none of the lost miners suffered. The explosion apparently was so devastating that their deaths must have been instantaneous.
Rescue workers entered the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal this morning to search for the four miners still unaccounted for after Monday’s explosion, but they were called back out when air sampling showed unsafe air quality.
Reporters, members of Congress, and mine-safety advocates are scrutinizing the record of Upper Big Branch, and they’re finding a troubling pattern. Steven Mufson, Jerry Markon, and Ed O’Keefe write in the Washington Post:
The West Virginia mine where at least 25 workers died Monday in an explosion was written up more than 50 times last month for safety violations. Twelve of the citations involved problems with ventilating the mine and preventing a buildup of deadly methane.
… Three miners have died there since 1998, and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration cited Upper Big Branch for 1,342 safety violations from 2005 through Monday, proposing $1.89 million in fines, according to federal records.
Sam Hananel and Tim Huber of the Associated Press report that in January, the mine received two of the heftiest fines in history for problems with a ventilation system that caused dirty rather than fresh air to be directed into an escapeway. Mine foreman Terry Moore told MSHA officials that the problem had been going on for three weeks; records show the problem was fixed on the day of the citation, but MSHA considered it an “unwarrantable failure,” the most serious violation type.
Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette has an update at his Coal Tattoo blog on the rescue efforts at Upper Big Branch Mine. Crews have drilled a hole into the mine and hope to send a rescue crew in later today. They banged on a pipe (nice 21st-century communication system, huh?) in the hope that trapped miners might hear the noise, but they haven’t gotten any response.
The following Charleston Gazette articles paint a vivid picture of how the community is responding to the devastating loss of 25 miners and the uncertainty of the fate of the remaining four who are unaccounted for:
“We just lost a big chunk of our family,” by Alison Knezevich
“Coal families, community seek solace at service in Whitesville,” by Andrew Clevenger
“Reeling community reaches to help neighbors,” by Rick Steelhammer
All of the Charleston Gazette’s coverage is here. Various media outlets have been exploring the safety record of mine owner Massey Energy, and the issues that affect mine safety nationwide. Some of the articles worth reading include the following:
Washington Post, Steven Mufson, Jerry Markon, and Ed O’Keefe: “West Virginia mine has been cited for myriad safety violations“*
NPR, Howard Berkes: “Deadly West Virginia Mine Blast Stuns Experts“*
Associated Press: “Mines Fight Safety Violations, Fines Go Unpaid“*
Charleston Gazette, Ken Ward Jr.: “Four years after reforms, why another mine disaster”
* Celeste is quoted in these pieces.
GlobalPost’s Kathleen E. McLaughlin reports that workers who make Apple touchscreens at a Wintek factory in Suzhou, China have been experiencing pain, weakness, blurred vision, and numbness and tingling that have made walking and working difficult. Workers trace their problems to n-hexane, a chemical used in cleaning touchscreens, and Wintek admits that it used that chemical – without the proper permits – for nearly a year. Apple “rejected repeated interview requests, refused to confirm whether its products were involved and directed questions to its 2010 Supplier Responsibility audit, which does not address chemical poisoning.” McLaughlin explores the technology giant’s role in worker-health issues like this one:
The case highlights problems with the widespread practice of technology giants’ outsourcing and fragmented supply chains. There is no single iPhone or iTouch factory, for example. Instead, outside companies are hired to make components and assemble the phones or other products.
… There are tangible steps companies like Apple can take to protect workers, labor-rights groups say. Employees should be allowed to organize unions, said Geoffrey Crothall of the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin. Also, nothing beats on-the-ground inspections from the companies that produce the final products.
“What they have to do is take a more hands-on approach,” said Crothall, noting Apple’s recently released supplier compliance report, which found multiple problems but did not name the offending factories. “There’s nothing in that Apple report that focuses on this particular factory,” said Crothall. “Apple should be commended on taking some measures, but it just needs to go further.”
This article is part of GlobalPost’s Silicon Sweatshop series, which investigates labor-rights violations at factories that manufacture electronic goods.
In other news:
The painful and deadly toll that asbestos imposes on families across the globe is a public health problem of growing magnitude. In the U.S., individuals who are diagnosed today with asbestos-related disease may trace their exposure to the lethal mineral fibers back several decades. The number of new cases of asbestos-related disease in the U.S. has not yet plateaued, and may not for years. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 125 million people are currently exposed to asbestos at work or in their communities. What will come of these individuals in the years ahead when the diseases manifest themselves?? Last year the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) produced an amazing, but frightening documentary “Canada’s Ugly Secret” and when I show it to my students, I ask “what will these people look like in 20 years?” Their answers are not pretty and not hopeful.
The time has long past for the U.S. to stand up for the public’s health and pass strong laws to protect future generations from asbestos-related disease. As we mark the end of Asbestos-Disease Awareness Week (April 1-7) and begin National Public Health Week (Nov 5-11) I urged every reader of TPH to take 1 minute to read the policy resolution adopted by the American Public Health Association (APHA) in 2009 calling for the global elimination of asbestos and strong prevention measures. The resolution urges:
- Congress to pass legislation banning the manufacture, sale, export, or import of asbestos-containing products (i.e., products to which asbestos is intentionally added or products in which asbestos is a contaminant).
- NIOSH and OSHA to issue an annual statement to alert workers in high-risk occupationsof the adverse health risks associated with exposure to asbestos and include information on potential early warning symptoms in at least English, Spanish, and French.
- US Administration to support efforts for a legally binding treaty to ban asbestos mining and manufacturing throughout the world.
- Congress to ban the exportation of asbestos or asbestos-containing materials for use or destruction in developing countries.
- US Administration to use its diplomatic influence with Canada, Russia, and other countries to stop their dangerous practice of exporting asbestos.
- Global corporations and development banks to establish policies prohibiting asbestos-containing materials in new construction and disaster relief projects.
- Governments to provide income support and retraining, and funding for relocation if necessary, for workers who would lose their jobs as a result of protective legislation.
Astute public health practitioners knew as early as 1898 that exposure to the lethal miner fibers caused severe respiratory damage. When Selikoff, Churg and Hammond published their study in 1964 of cancer deaths among U.S. and Canadian asbestos insulation workers, the evidence of its harm to people’s health was incontrovertible. Yet, like the tobacco industry, individuals who profit from asbestos peddle their deadly product with no chance of being held responsible for the severe harm caused to others–especially when that harm may not appear for years and years.
By adopting all the recommendations of APHA’s resolution, the U.S. and global community can create a world in which future generations will look at asbestos-related disease as an ugly thing of the past.
Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH is immediate past chair of the OHS Section of APHA. She was pleased to join fellow APHA members Barry Castleman and Linda Reinstein in drafting the resolution on asbestos adopted by the organization at its 2009 annual meeting. She is looking forward to attending the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s 6th annual international conference entitled “Knowledge is Stronger than Asbestos” on April 9-11 in Chicago, IL.
Updated 4/5/10 at 12:24 pm (see postscript)
I’ve been following the news coverage of the catastrophe at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington (here, here, here, here). Mr. Daniel Aldridge, 50, Mr. Darrin J Hoines, 43, Ms. Donna Van Dreumel, 36, Mr. Matt Bowen, and Ms. Kathryn Powell 29, died from their injuries, and Mr. Lew Janz, 41, and Mr. Matt Gumbel, 34, are in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
I couldn’t help but notice the references in several of the stories to OSHA’s National Emphasis Program on Petroleum Refinery Process Safety Management (CPL 03-00-10, reissued Aug 18 2009.*) As long as I can remember, federal OSHA has labeled these special targeted enforcement activities “National Emphasis Programs,” when they aren’t national at all.
First, federal OSHA only has authority to conduct inspections in 29 of the 50 States. The others run their own state-based OH&S regulatory and enforcement apparatus. For this particular NEP, as for nearly all of them, OSHA tells the state-plan agencies:
“Participation in this national emphasis program…is strongly encouraged, but is not required.” (OSHA directive, August 2009, see p.4)
by the spirit of Tony Mazzocchi
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries, Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH) inspected the Tesoro Anacortes refinery in 2008 and found major safety problems. In a settlement agreement, however, the agency “deleted” 14 of 17 serious citations and lowered the penalty from $85,700 to $12,250. A massive explosion rocked the refinery on April 2nd, killing five workers and critically injured two others. The serious citations should have served as a warning of systemic problems at the refinery, but Tesoro and Washington State DOSH apparently did not take needed actions to prevent the catastrophic incident last week.
The agency has a history of negotiating away citations in refinery disasters. In 1998, a fire at the nearby Equilon refinery killed six. The agency dropped willful violations and issued two “unclassified” citations. The settlement was reported to have been proposed by the Equilon’s lawyers, McDermott, Will and Emery. This situation should compel us to ask:
- Do settlement agreements that drop or reduce citations benefit worker safety in the long run? Or
- Do they serve to reduce legal liability for corporations while allowing OSHA to more easily close-out inspections?
In China’s Shanxi province, 153 workers have been trapped in a flooded coal mine since Sunday. BBC reports that 261 mineworkers were in the mine when the water rushed in, and more than 100 of them were able to escape; now, nearly 1,000 rescuers are working round the clock to free the rest. According to the BBC, the trapped workers and the rescuers are also faced with a buildup of toxic gas in the mine.
In other news:
US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and MSHA chief Joe Main marked the 40th anniversary of the Coal Mine H&S Act this week. The Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward offers his perspective on the event in two posts published at Coal Tattoo.
Story 1: MSHA celebrates landmark mine safety law, but when will Obama administration tighten dust limits to really end deadly black lung disease?
by Ken Ward, Jr., cross-posted from Coal Tattoo
Early this afternoon, officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and its Mine Safety and Health Administration will gather in Washington for a celebration to mark the 40th anniversary of the landmark federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.
Wait … The 40th anniversary? Wasn’t that last year? Well, yes. The law was signed on Dec. 30, 1969. But, MSHA’s celebration is officially to mark the effective date of the law, which for most provisions was March 30, 2010.
Wouldn’t today’s event be a great opportunity for the Obama administration to make some major announcement … Oh, like maybe that MSHA was going to get back on track with its initial promise to tighten the legal limit on coal dust that causes deadly black lung disease?
Asbestos exposure and asbestos-related disease remains a huge public health problem. The World Health Organization estimates that at least 7,000 individual across the globe die annually from asbestos-releated disease, and another 125 million people are currently exposed to asbestos at work or in their communities. Last year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reaffirmed its assessment that exposure to ANY form of asbestos (chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, actinolite, anthophyllite) is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma, and that mineral substances like talc and vermiculite that contain asbestos are carcinogenic as well. Moreover, IARC notes that asbestos exposure causes cancer of the larynx and the ovary.
Besides its well deserved cancer label, exposure to asbestos causes tens of thousands of individuals to suffer and die from asbestosis, a chronic fibrotic pulmonary disease that robs people of their breath. Recognizing the toll of harm created by the use and global trade in this deadly fiber, in November 2009 the American Public Health Association—the largest public health organization in the world—adopted a policy resolution calling for a global ban on asbestos. Despite all the scientific evidence about the danger of asbestos exposure, interest groups and governments continue to sow doubt about it affect on people’s health.
KNOWLEDGE, however, is stronger than asbestos.
The Pump Handle 