MSHA cites W.Va. mine after watching 'Coal'

Seems like to good ole boys at MSHA enjoy watching Spike TV.

First time they have written violations based on TV footage.

Maybe other coal mines might think twice before leaving a film crew on site.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wir ... d=13325800

I always wonder how those logging shows get away with no 'Regulatory Individuals' around. Their evidence is well documented.

Hint: NO F....ing cameras allowed past the main gate. Hope they got paid enough to cover the fines.

These reality shows may be the start of a new trend for OSHA and MSHA.

They can just sit back and leave the film crew do the investigating, then watch the show,
and just write violations.
Every picture tells a story.

RB

Sounds to me like there is a lot more good coming out of it than a few fines that most appeal & get reduced or repealed. I used to love it when anyone came into the mills for a tour or shoot a commercial, as dirty as it may have looked it was always better than it normally was.

This is obviously a new twist on the old adage that "Big Brother is watching you".

The violations were written on the anniversary date of the explosion that killed
those 29 miners at Upper Big Branch.
This could be MSHA's wake up call to other mines to follow the book and self-police themselves.

When Dirty Jobs first started I was thinking they might be interested in following me on day of work. The first thing I thought was there is no way I meet OSHA requirements. It's old school job and since most of the people doing this come from long line of people that do it accidents are rare, I never heard of one happening.

Typical government agency response. Instead of working with the mine to solve problems, they go for the jugular and try to bleed the company to death.

Well if you view the entire video, it's obvious the mine needs a larger generator. They also need backup power to the mine ventilation system, a critical system for mine safety. The local utility must have real reliability issues. Clearly the mine operation is under capitalized. They need management that can get the needed capital.

The agency that fined the company was doing the right thing. They are a safety enforcement agency not a capital giving agency. There are other government agencies that provide such services/support. A competent owner would know how to access it.

I watch the entire film. Overall I was struck by how poor the people appeared. However, there were lots of new looking autos and trucks.

I did watch the entire episode also, however my logic would be that safety is the MOST important and the money for the fine should be used to improve that facility, right now. The anniversary was someone's way to make the point even more important, and certainly we all understand that. However I still feel that if the mine closed due to those infractions and put 250 out of a job they love, why not use the money earmarked for the fine to improve conditions for all those workers, and perhaps many more. I did observe that those guys need to be commended for what they have done for generations, and their 'piece of the pie' was and is not comparable to everyone that sits at the table. It will cause controversy and that will mean more viewers.....all that is fine as long as conditions and attitudes improve.

Kind of like the fella saying: When you are up to your eyeballs in Alligators, it's difficult to remember the main mission was to drain the damned swamp! Profit over safety? Not from my perspective. Too many have not made it home for dinner already.

The hardest job in the world would being the guy who has to explain it to the wives, kids and family. Like seeing a "G' plate on a green car with two folks in uniform stopping in front of your house and having a son, daughter, or father or mother in uniform some place in our world. We all wish that would never happen again.

Yanche wrote:Well if you view the entire video, it's obvious the mine needs a larger generator. They also need backup power to the mine ventilation system, a critical system for mine safety. The local utility must have real reliability issues. Clearly the mine operation is under capitalized. They need management that can get the needed capital.

The agency that fined the company was doing the right thing. They are a safety enforcement agency not a capital giving agency. There are other government agencies that provide such services/support. A competent owner would know how to access it.

I watch the entire film. Overall I was struck by how poor the people appeared. However, there were lots of new looking autos and trucks.

Got to watch the second epsoide last night. They brought in other workers who also concluded that the generator is too small. The whole power distribution system must be questioned if the run the majority of the operation on a generator but put the ventilation fan on street power. A transfer switch should have been installed as a minimum for safety backup. The interview I say basically said it all - two people put in to go for broke on a mining operation. No doubt they didn't know everything or tried to keep it cheap. My point is the government agencies should be a source of support first, fines second.

In regards to the local economy, do some research on WV and south west Ohio that borders WV. You will find that coal mining and related industries may be the only living wage jobs available in some areas.

Richard S. wrote:When Dirty Jobs first started I was thinking they might be interested in following me on day of work. The first thing I thought was there is no way I meet OSHA requirements. It's old school job and since most of the people doing this come from long line of people that do it accidents are rare, I never heard of one happening.

Richard, could just see Mike Rowe climbing the ladder on the high lift wearing a harness with double
lanyards, snapping off to every rung of the ladder, going up into the coal to look for the key to
the Lockout/Tagout that was on the PTO and Hydraulic Controls.

Years ago the Dept of Ag would get a high bacteria count on our dairy farm, come in and fine us for this and that...but then they began to change. Realizing that such tactics did not work, now they come in and work with us to get our bacteria counts down, and to find out what is causing it. For example, we used to use a weaker solution of iodine to clean up the cows, but now use a surgical grade iodine that does a much better job. It is expensive, but works. In the end the people who drink our milk are really the ones who benefit (and if you ever drink McDonald Milkshakes, you benefit).

It is the same thing here, voluntary compliance works much better then imposing fines.

Citing a company from afar (bird dogging) is lazy and uncalled for. It was the one thing I never did as a Safety Coordinator for the railroad. I worked hard to educate people on how to work safe, and to motivate them for their own kids and wife, and not for the railroad's sake so that when I was on a different crew, they would remain working safe...for their own good, not to prevent a citation from me. It must have worked, our losses were reduced greatly... so much so that I did not have a budget...whatever I asked for I got simply because the injury rate was so low (a 12 million dollar reduction).

We did have one motivator that other industries do not have though; on the railroad individuals can be fined by the FRA and not just the employer...the railroad company itself. Some of these individual fines can be as high as $5,000-$10,000 dollars. That was a pretty good motivator!