Top US mine regulator advises operators to improve abilities to respond to disasters

MSHA conducts mine emergency response meeting

BEAVER, W.Va. — The nation’s top mine regulator says recent disasters revealed shortcomings with the industry’s ability to respond.

Mine Safety and Health Administration Director Joe Main told industry officials Tuesday that mine operators must improve their ability to respond until regulators arrive. For instance, just 32 of 418 U.S. coal mines have complied with MSHA’s advice on preparing for disasters.

Among other things, MSHA wants operators to mark key underground locations on the surface. That can help rescuers drill accurate holes to search for miners or survey the atmosphere in a mine such as West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch.

An explosion at the Massey Energy mine killed 29 men last month, the nation’s worst coal mine disaster in 40 years.