Congress seeks review of mine safety after Utah disaster

WASHINGTON — The government should review two-way mine communication and breathing technologies based on the Crandall Canyon Mine accidents, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., wrote to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

This is one of several congressional requests for review of mine safety issues in light of the August accident near Huntington, Emery County, that trapped six miners and later killed three rescuers while injuring others.

"The tragedy at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah highlighted the importance of better underground mine communication and tracking technology," Enzi said in a statement. "When an accident occurs, rescuers need to be able to find and communicate with lost miners — their lives depend on it."

Enzi sent a letter to Dr. John Howard, director of NIOSH, and Dr. Jeffrey Kohler, associate director for mine safety and health research at NIOSH, asking them to review the research and advances in deep mine communications and breathable air technology.

Enzi said the rescue efforts could have been helped if rescuers could communicate with those trapped under 1,800 feet of rock, and that getting devices enabling miners to have "adequate breathable air is just as crucial."

Enzi was chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee when the Republicans controlled the Senate. Congress passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, known as the MINER ACT, last year and asked NIOSH for a progress report on those areas since the law has been implemented.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, now headed by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has a hearing scheduled Tuesday to learn more about the accident.

Kevin Stricklin, administrator for coal mine safety and health at Mine Safety and Health Administration; Joseph Osterman, managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board; and Dennis O'Dell, administrator for health and safety of United Mine Workers of America, among others, are scheduled to testify Tuesday.

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