Some mines are allowed to pull pillars, he added, if it's in a plan that is agreed upon by regulators and the mine owner. Stickler said Monday that MSHA realized it needed to revisit some of its regulations after the Crandall Canyon accident.

"When we saw what happened at Crandall Canyon, certainly it became obvious to us that we need to take a second look at the roof-control plans that had been approved for deep cover mines," he said.

Miner Don Erickson, of Helper, died in the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse. His son Brandon Erickson was invited to the symposium in Salt Lake City this week.

Erickson said he planned on staying at the symposium for two full days of reports about safety improvements to the industry.

"I'm just here to support the safety aspect of it," Erickson said. Based on what he learned Monday, he added, "It seems it will be better in the future."

The agenda for the symposium was safety issues in underground coal mining. The keynote speaker, Brett Harvey, who is president and chief executive officer of Consol Energy, said mining companies must put top priority on safety. Consol owns 17 coal mines nationwide, including the Emery Deep Mine in Emery County.

"Regulation is the framework of which we determine and evaluate safety," Harvey said. "The value of zero injuries and the value of safety is beyond regulation, and that's a matter of training at the universities, training of the miners and training before they go into the mines."

Wendy Black, wife of Dale Black, one of three men who died trying to rescue the trapped miners, still has several relatives in mining. She was interested in the discussion about safety improvements.

"If we can help save one coal miner with all this help, it'll be worth it," Black said.

A moment of silence was held for Erickson's father and the others who died at Crandall Canyon.

"It was honorable," Erickson said about the recognition of his father. "I just wish that he was still here."

Sen. Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, who made a 30-year career in the mining industry, said there is "huge" pressure coming from mine-safety issues these days. He believes there should have been more oversight in the plan approval process for Crandall Canyon.

Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon was impressed by communication and miner location-detector devices that were talked about Monday.

"I always felt maybe the technology was right there," Gordon said about what sort of technology could have been used by Crandall Canyon miners prior to the collapse. "If only they could have pinpointed where those men were."