Comments on: Understanding Employee Safety Affects the Corporate Bottom Line (as demonstrated by Upper Big Branch Mine) http://ehswire.com/2010/07/understanding-employee-safety-affects-the-corporate-bottom-line-as-demonstrated-by-upper-big-branch-mine/ Views and news about environmental, occupational health & safety Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:41:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Paula Kaufmann http://ehswire.com/2010/07/understanding-employee-safety-affects-the-corporate-bottom-line-as-demonstrated-by-upper-big-branch-mine/comment-page-1/#comment-1430 Paula Kaufmann Fri, 20 May 2011 21:52:03 +0000 http://ehswire.com/?p=1138#comment-1430 Yesterday, I woke to the NPR radio coverage about the Massey report. The lead for their discussion on this was "Report Blasts Massey For 'Deviance' In Safety Culture" ... go to http://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/136426906/report-blasts-massey-for-deviance-in-safety-culture. My take away was the Report's criticism of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, a couple of salient quotes taken from the Report on this subject: "Three layers of protection designed to safeguard the lives of miners failed at Upper Big Branch. First, the company’s pre-shift/on-shift examination system broke down so that safety hazards either were not recorded, or, if recorded, were not corrected. Second, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) failed to use all the tools at its disposal to ensure that the company was compliant with federal laws. Third, the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training (WVHST) failed in its role of enforcing state laws and serving as a watchdog for coal miners." "Regulatory agencies alone cannot ensure a safe workplace for miners. It is incumbent upon the coal industry to lead the way toward a better, safer industry and toward a culture in which safety of workers truly is paramount." The conclusion reported was that financial penalties aren't high enough nor are the personal legal repercussions for the owners and management team. For me ... this is a very sobering finding with the current congressional push for "less" environmental, health and safety oversight. Yesterday, I woke to the NPR radio coverage about the Massey report. The lead for their discussion on this was “Report Blasts Massey For ‘Deviance’ In Safety Culture” … go to http://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/136426906/report-blasts-massey-for-deviance-in-safety-culture.

My take away was the Report’s criticism of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, a couple of salient quotes taken from the Report on this subject:

“Three layers of protection designed to safeguard the lives of miners failed at Upper Big Branch. First, the company’s pre-shift/on-shift examination system broke down so that safety hazards either were not recorded, or, if recorded, were not corrected. Second,
the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) failed to use all the tools at its disposal to ensure that the company was compliant with federal laws. Third, the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training (WVHST) failed in its role of enforcing state laws and serving as a watchdog for coal miners.”

“Regulatory agencies alone cannot ensure a safe workplace for miners. It is incumbent upon the coal industry to lead the way toward a better, safer industry and toward a culture in which safety of workers truly is paramount.”

The conclusion reported was that financial penalties aren’t high enough nor are the personal legal repercussions for the owners and management team. For me … this is a very sobering finding with the current congressional push for “less” environmental, health and safety oversight.

]]> By: admin http://ehswire.com/2010/07/understanding-employee-safety-affects-the-corporate-bottom-line-as-demonstrated-by-upper-big-branch-mine/comment-page-1/#comment-1428 admin Fri, 20 May 2011 14:06:47 +0000 http://ehswire.com/?p=1138#comment-1428 The Upper Big Branch Mine story remains in the news with the results of an independent study that finds fault with Massey Energy prioritized production over safety.(See http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9NAK39G0.htm for further details.) To read the complete Report on the Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion go to: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/20/us/20110520_MINE_REPORT_DOC.html?ref=us And, the mining risk doesn't end there. "The bad news mounts on the mine disaster at Upper Big Branch mine. Black lung was found in 17 of 24 autopsies of the 29 miners who died in last year's explosion at Massey Energy's mine. According to the Center for Public Integrity, it wasn’t just the long-time miners working for Massey Energy Co. who had the disease. Some were as young as 25, and five had less than 10 years of experience working in coal mines, according to the report on the explosion by J. Davitt McAteer, former head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. The high rate of disease detected in the bodies of the Massey miners "is an alarming finding given the ages and work history of these men," the report notes" Quoted from: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/05/20/1746835/kentucky-news-review-upper-big.html#ixzz1MtwcEwt1 The Upper Big Branch Mine story remains in the news with the results of an independent study that finds fault with Massey Energy prioritized production over safety.(See http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9NAK39G0.htm for further details.)

To read the complete Report on the Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion go to: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/20/us/20110520_MINE_REPORT_DOC.html?ref=us

And, the mining risk doesn’t end there. “The bad news mounts on the mine disaster at Upper Big Branch mine. Black lung was found in 17 of 24 autopsies of the 29 miners who died in last year’s explosion at Massey Energy’s mine. According to the Center for Public Integrity, it wasn’t just the long-time miners working for Massey Energy Co. who had the disease. Some were as young as 25, and five had less than 10 years of experience working in coal mines, according to the report on the explosion by J. Davitt McAteer, former head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. The high rate of disease detected in the bodies of the Massey miners “is an alarming finding given the ages and work history of these men,” the report notes”

Quoted from: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/05/20/1746835/kentucky-news-review-upper-big.html#ixzz1MtwcEwt1

]]> By: Paula Kaufmann http://ehswire.com/2010/07/understanding-employee-safety-affects-the-corporate-bottom-line-as-demonstrated-by-upper-big-branch-mine/comment-page-1/#comment-1363 Paula Kaufmann Wed, 06 Apr 2011 01:35:17 +0000 http://ehswire.com/?p=1138#comment-1363 Just an update --- http://www.facesofthemine.com at one year out. NPR released a report about the timeline of Emergency Response notification by the mine management team. This was startling to me! http://www.npr.org/2011/04/01/135044097/hour-by-hour-emergency-response-to-the-upper-big-branch-mine-disaster What do you think? Just an update — http://www.facesofthemine.com at one year out.
NPR released a report about the timeline of Emergency Response notification by the mine management team. This was startling to me!
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/01/135044097/hour-by-hour-emergency-response-to-the-upper-big-branch-mine-disaster

What do you think?

]]> By: health forum http://ehswire.com/2010/07/understanding-employee-safety-affects-the-corporate-bottom-line-as-demonstrated-by-upper-big-branch-mine/comment-page-1/#comment-1143 health forum Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:39:32 +0000 http://ehswire.com/?p=1138#comment-1143 Understanding Employee Safety Affects the Corporate Bottom ... is a superb post, I found your site researching google for a related theme and came to this. I couldnt find to much alternative details on this piece of writing, so it was good to find this one. Understanding Employee Safety Affects the Corporate Bottom … is a superb post, I found your site researching google for a related theme and came to this. I couldnt find to much alternative details on this piece of writing, so it was good to find this one.

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