The nation's coal-mining industry is hoping for better days.

This week's disaster in West Virginia, which claimed 12 miners' lives, will have repercussions for an industry that already faced a graying work force and lack of interest in mining by young people.

But coal mining today remains safer than a generation ago, and the industry's best days may be yet to come, said Carol Raulston, senior vice president for the National Mining Association in Washington, D.C.

"I think most people believe the glory days for coal mining are now and in the decade ahead," Raulston said. "The fact is we've had such strides in technology and such improvements in safety. Obviously, a great pall is cast over that by this week's event."

From 1900 through 2004, there were 104,552 coal-mining fatalities in the United States, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. However, most of those deaths occurred early in the 20th century, when safety measures were rare.

In 2005, there were 22 fatalities in the nation's 1,500 coal mines, a stark contrast to the 1960s and '70s, when it was common for hundreds of coal miners to die each year. There were no coal-mining deaths in Utah last year.

However, the belief that coal mining is a dangerous occupation lingers.

Utah mine tragedies like the 1900 Scofield Mine disaster, which claimed 200 lives; the 1924 Castle Gate Mine explosion, in which 172 men lost their lives; and the 1984 Wilberg Mine fire, which killed 27 miners, cast a long shadow.

"In actuality, mining is a very safe occupation," said David Litvin, president of the Utah Mining Association. "It's much safer than some other activities. Construction is not as safe as mining. Farming is not as safe as mining in terms of the amount of injuries."

Litvin added that each mining accident is investigated. If the incident uncovers any questionable practices, the entire industry is alerted.

"No one wants these repeated," Litvin said. "We're always looking to be safer. Compare that to a place like China, where historically over the last few years they have had as many as 10,000 coal miners die in a year. That's because they don't have the safety practices implemented to the degree that we have here in the United States."

Trailing the human costs, mine accidents also hamper industry efforts at attracting new employees, who are in high demand.

"There is a shortage of workers in the industry right now," Litvin said. "We're always looking for qualified people in all phases."

Roughly 78,000 people work in the U.S. coal-mine industry, with fewer than 3,000 people in Utah coal mines. In the next five to 10 years, Raulston said, the overall U.S. mining industry will need to hire 55,000 new employees, with about 75 percent of those positions in coal mining alone.

"The demographics in terms of the aging work force is most acute in underground coal mines," Raulston said. "The image of mining that is held by many is an old image, so the safety question always looms large."

According to a recent report by First Research Inc., based in North Carolina, the U.S. coal-mining industry includes about 1,000 companies that operate 1,500 mines, with combined annual revenue of $25 billion. Higher energy demands have led to renewed interest in coal, which is the fuel responsible for generating roughly half of the nation's electricity needs.

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