Annual Mining Symposium Coming to WJU

Following a year highlighted by the passage of landmark mine-safety legislation at both the state and federal levels, and 16 months removed from two catastrophic accidents that killed 14 West Virginia miners, the International Mining Health and Safety Symposium returns to the Ohio Valley later this month to build on the progress and momentum of initiatives designed to improve safety in the mining industry. Hosted... 

WJU to Host Mining Symposium

The National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) at Wheeling Jesuit University will again coordinate an International Mining Health and Safety Symposium to continue the progress made at last year’s inaugural event. Working closely with the office of West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III, officials at the NTTC have announced the two-day event is scheduled for April 26-27 and will attract representatives... 

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McDowell mine practice long considered risky

More than five years ago, West Virginia regulators were urged to consider banning a practice in which coal miners pull coal from the pillars meant to hold up underground mine roofs. This weekend, two more West Virginia miners died ”pulling pillars,” in the first deaths for the state’s coal industry this year. In a November 2001 report, then-Gov. Bob Wise was encouraged to closely... 

Company fined for deadly drilling accident

A deadly collapse of a drilling rig in western New York this spring has led the federal government to fine the drilling company for several safety violations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration this week fined Union Drilling Incorporated for more than 138-thousand dollars after finding the wires designed to support the 103-foot-tall rig were not installed correctly. The rig collapse... 

Mine air pack test changes urged years ago

Seven years ago, a government engineer in charge of testing emergency air packs used in U.S. coal mines suggested that tests used to approve the devices might not be effective _ and that there was no way to know if the air packs were safe. Nicholas Kyriazi, a biomedical engineer with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, wrote in August 1999 that tests were inadequate for determining... 

Union Sues Feds Over Coal Mine Air Packs

The coal miners’ union is suing the government to ensure miners have working oxygen supplies and know how to use them. The suit by the United Mine Workers of America comes a day after Congress passed sweeping legislation overhauling mine safety rules. The union backed the legislation but said its lawsuit deals with separate concerns. UMW president Cecil Roberts said the union wants the Mine Safety...