Carol Raulston
(202) 463-2610
craulston@nma.org

Luke Popovich
(202) 463-2620
lpopovich@nma.org

March 28, 2007

NMA Recounts Safety Progress; Points to Need for Federal Funding and Federal-State Regulatory Reconciliation

Washington, D.C. — U.S. mining companies have made significant strides in improving safety in underground coal mines over the past year, and further improvements will be more readily achieved with a robust funding program to accelerate application of mine safety technologies, an industry spokesman told a U.S. House of Representatives panel today.

In testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee, Bruce Watzman, vice president of safety and health for the National Mining Association (NMA), said the mining industry has made impressive strides in implementing the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006, which the industry supported, and has taken additional, voluntary measures that will lead to safer conditions for underground coal mining.

Watzman recapped a long list of steps U.S. mining companies have taken to improve mine safety. For example, in the past 12 months, Watzman said the industry has placed 78,000 breathing devices into service and instituted quarterly training sessions in their use for all miners; installed lifelines in both primary and secondary escape ways; implemented new systems to track miners underground; installed redundant communications systems; tested post-accident communications systems and established, or plans to establish, 36 new mine rescue teams in advance of federal regulatory requirements.

Complying with federal and state requirements was only part of the improvements to make mining safer, said Watzman. Industry is also preparing to implement recommendations from the Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission, an independent panel of safety experts established in 2006 by NMA.

Among the commission's recommendations for improving mine safety is a potentially far-reaching proposal to design safety programs based on risk assessments for each individual mine. “Our goal is to create operational tools that will help every company identify and address significant hazards before they create situations that threaten life or property," said Watzman.

NMA is working with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to develop risk-based management tools and templates to help mine operators implement this and other recommendations from the commission. Watzman described the paradigm shift to managing risks at each mine as a "significant undertaking" that will require flexibility for achieving the MINER Act's goals of "optimizing safety and survivability."

Watzman also noted that in addition to the substantial investments already made in better safety technology, more must be done to resolve conflicting requirements between state and federal mine safety requirements. “It is imperative that policies encourage the broadest possible applications of technology across all underground coal regions,” advised Watzman.

Notwithstanding these efforts, said Watzman, increased funding for basic research under the auspices of NIOSH will be necessary to accelerate development of communications, tracking and breathable air technologies called for in the MINER Act. “At no time in our recent history has the expertise residing at the mining program in NIOSH been more vital to improving mine safety,” Watzman concluded.

For the full text of Watzman's testimony, visit: http://www.nma.org/pdf/cong_test/032807_watzman.pdf