Fifty-five workers, including three in Pennsylvania, died in the nation’s coal mines from January through September of this year, 18 more than were killed during the same period in 1988, federal figures show.
While industry experts expressed regret over the increased number of fatalities, they said the higher figure was not a sign of lax safety practices in the mines. Instead, they pointed to a tragic explosion in September that took the lives of 10 Wheatcroft, Ky., miners.
“Compared to several years ago, training and safety practices that are incorporated in mines are considerably superior than many years ago,” said John Grasser, spokesman for the National Coal Association.
Data from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, which released the latest numbers, show that safety has generally improved in the mines over the last decade.
In 1980, there were 133 fatalities in coal mines across the country. The figure slipped to 68 in 1985. By 1988, the number of fatalities in the industry had fallen to 53.
“Although the overall trend in mining deaths has been downward in recent years, we in the mining community cannot afford to be complacent,” said William J. Tattersall, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
The accidents in Pennsylvania that led to the deaths of three miners occurred in coal mines in Trevorton, Bakerton and Snow Shoe.
Tom Brown, spokesman for the safety administration, said that of the 55 deaths in coal mines during the first nine months of 1989, 16 were caused by collapsed roofs. Eight workers died in accidents involving mining equipment.
“Huge machines cut coal from the wall. Some workers get crushed against the wall and some catch themselves in the machinery,” Brown explained.
Five miners died because of accidents involving shuttle cars that haul coal to the surface or transport miners through the work area, and four miners were electrocuted.
“There are electric cords going into the mines,” Brown said. “Sometimes they break, or the miners step on them.”
Twenty-two of the deaths, including 10 from the Kentucky mine explosion that is still being investigated, were due to other circumstances, Brown said.
