Key Players in Coal Industry Discuss Federal Proposal for Proximity Detection Systems
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Key players in the coal industry voiced contrasting opinions Thursday about a federal proposal that would eventually require alarm systems to warn miners when they get too close to underground mining machinery.
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration says 33 miners have died and another 220 have suffered injuries since 1984 when they were struck, pinned or crushed by continuous mining machines. These large, remote-controlled devices wield a rotating drum that can scrape several tons of coal from a seam per minute with rows of saw-like teeth.
Among its provisions, the proposed rule seeks to require an alert that miners can see or hear if they come within five feet of a machine. It would also require that machines automatically stop if they end up within three feet of a miner.
The agency fielded comments Thursday, Oct. 20 at a public hearing in Charleston. West Virginia produces more coal from underground mines than any other state. Chris Hamilton, a senior vice president of the state’s coal association, said his group supports developing proximity warning systems and their eventual use across the mining industry. Hamilton cited the study of these systems by a task force that includes state officials and machine manufacturers, and urged MSHA to coordinate its pursuit of a rule with this ongoing review.
But Hamilton also questioned whether MSHA’s proposed 18-month timetable was reasonable, given complaints about the availability and reliability of these systems from those operators who have sought to install them.
“A major concern shared by our industry today is over how this technology has evolved over the past couple of years, and whether it is ready for widespread or industry-wide implementation,” Hamilton said.
But Dennis O’Dell, a United Mine Workers union health and safety official, called the proposed rule long overdue. He said such systems have been used successfully with mining machines in South Africa, Canada and Australia.
“If operators are really about protecting their workforce and providing safe work environments, then the mining community needs to stop making excuses and putting this off,” O’Dell said.
O’Dell said the union wants MSHA to extend the rule to other underground machines such as shuttle cars and roof bolters, and to machine-reliant surface mining as well.
Companies that develop these systems include Joy Global Inc., a leader maker of continuous miners and other industry machines. Brian Thompson, a company representative, said the technology involved has its limits.
“They’re not perfect,” Thompson said of existing proximity warning systems. “The industry continues to work on things to evolve the product to make it better, but fundamentally they are not 100 percent failsafe. They’re not 100 percent perfect in the environment that they’re in.”
Thompson noted that while a machine can be shut down if a miner gets too close, it may not stop moving if the mine floor is sloping or wet. He also said MSHA might consider a timetable longer than 18 months, as these systems require extensive training and are best installed in workshops as opposed to on-site in mines.
Hamilton had recommended alternatives to pursuing the rule now, such as increased miner training and supervision. He also advocated an increase in extended cuts, when a continuous mining machine scrapes a section of a coal seam wider than 20 feet.
Federal officials have cited safety concerns regarding extended cuts, including the potential for roof falls and a greater volume of dangerous coal dust. Defending the practice, Hamilton said extended cuts mean a continuous mining machine is moved less often. He said 26 of the 33 deaths since 1984 have happened when machines were being worked on or relocated.
Hamilton counted 345 continuous miners in West Virginia capable of extended cuts. Such wider cuts are allowed under mine plans for 230 of these machines, but 90 other mine plans await MSHA approval. Faulting the agency for delaying action on those plans, Hamilton said he considered it part of what he termed the Obama administration’s hostility toward Appalachian coal mining. The region’s industry has been bitterly opposed to the handling of mining-related permits by President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency.
Gregory Wagner, an MSHA policy official who moderated Thursday’s hearing, pressed Hamilton to detail this group’s concerns with the proposed rule as drafted. Wagner also said the agency has no policy blocking extended cuts, as Hamilton had suggested. Citing the number of miners killed and injured, Wagner questioned whether stepped-up training was a better route than pursuing proximity warning systems.
MSHA also held a Tuesday hearing for the proposed rule in Denver, and has scheduled public hearings in Pennsylvania and Indiana next week.
Source: (Oct. 20, 2011) The Associated Press
Upcoming public hearings:
October 25, 2011, Pennsylvania
Courtyard Washington, Meadow Lands, 1800 Tanger Boulevard, Washington, Pennsylvania 15301
Phone: 724-222-5620
October 27, 2011, Indiana
Fairfield Inn, Evansville West, 5400 Weston Road, Evansville, Indiana 47712
Phone: 812-429-0900
