NEWS: West Virginia Halts Mining After Two More Die

CULTURE: West Virginia Halts Mining After Two More Die

The governor of West Virginia has called for a halt of all mining operations after two more miners died today.



This brings the death total to 16 in the past month or so.

Strange. I would have thought that despite the fact that the post has been vacant for 14 months that the last person to hold the position would have left a legacy of safety and responsibility.

"David Lauriski: Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety
David Lauriski, is a long-time coal industry executive and lobbyist. Shortly after taking office, Lauriski bragged to a group of coal industry executives that his regulatory agenda "is quite a bit shorter than some past agendas." Indeed, death warrants usually tend towards brevity. Part of Lauriski's abbreviated agenda is to reduce the number of times a mining company has to sample coal dust levels inside the tunnels, a move that is certain to increase incidence of black lung disease. And yes, Lauriski wants to get rid of the chest X-ray program that tests miners for black lung disease. Lauriski also wants to slash the number of mine inspectors by 25 percent. "
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/bushco/cronyism.htm