China mine disaster; 104 dead

[RockRacer]

I just saw this on the news and thought I would share and see if anyone had thoughts on it.

KSL.com

[bergdh]

"Government officials have been trying to increase safety standards. In the first six months of the year, 1,175 people died, marking a drop of 18.4 percent from the same period the previous year."

Its really a horrible thing, that lives matter so little. I could go on about Capitalism and Communism, and Americanism etc, but the root of it is that to china and many countries including our own workers mean so little.

[Mike]

Coal Mine. Been happening like this for many centuries. That is simply the nature of a soft rock coal mine. Proper ventilation can help prevent explosion accidents like this from happening. This article makes it sound like the mine was supposed to be a haven for underground miners; a getaway from all things dangerous. I find that the article swings in the same way that most of the media does. That the government is to blame for the explosion and killing the poor miners.

That's why we only explore hard rock mines.

[rhartill]

Entering a coal mine is like walking into a fully stoked stove.
Mining a coal vein is akin to striking and holding a match up to investigate
a gas leak. Coal "dust" can be as volatile as gasoline vapors with methane a natural byproduct of coal seam decay.

Coal mine fires have been burning out of control in Utah for decades; royalty fees should be used to stop these fires instead of closing up hardrock mine openings.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/firehole.html

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/geotech/hazards/mine/mine_thread.cfm?thread=6

I prefer hardrock mines over coal mines too. Au Ag Pb Zn etc. are commodities but coal is a FUEL.

[Dino]

I've worked in a coal mine and they're only as dangerous as the management makes them. If management fails to rountinely assess and implement safe practices to mitigate risks then yes they are very dangerous. It's unfortunate China will have to go through all of the same mine worker rights issues that this country did at the turn of the century. I find it amazing there isn't more modern technology in China mines. When I hear there are 500+ employees in the mine it makes me wonder if they are still hand loading coal.

[Mr.Irksome]

Hard rock mine may be safer, but I'd still like to see what a coal mine is like some time.

[Stuart]

I've worked in a coal mine and they're only as dangerous as the management makes them. If management fails to rountinely assess and implement safe practices to mitigate risks then yes they are very dangerous. It's unfortunate China will have to go through all of the same mine worker rights issues that this country did at the turn of the century. I find it amazing there isn't more modern technology in China mines. When I hear there are 500+ employees in the mine it makes me wonder if they are still hand loading coal.

I agree that it is indeed managements responsibility to assess and resolve potential safety issues. I fear that too many companies and in this case countries begin to neglect safety improvements because it can become very expensive to implement new technologies and it may not appear to be beneficial until it is too late. I'm sure the management of this mine were under tight bureaucratic budgets and controls which eventually resulted in this tragedy. You know Dino, I think you may be right about hand loading coal.... with 500+ employees it is either the biggest coal mine on earth or they are using very outdated mining methods.

[JeffBett]

with 500+ employees it is either the biggest coal mine on earth or they are using very outdated mining methods.

I had seen something on the mines in China in the recent past and yes they are still hand loading ore carts and their main breathing saftey equipment is a cloth bandana over their nose and mouth. But hey it pays $5.00 a day.

[Mike]

Chris Rohrer, one of our friends at the DOGM, pointed out a couple great articles regarding coal mining in China. They give a good idea of the dangers of coal mining and what the situation over there is like.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19203190

(Be sure to watch the slideshow, its pretty good.)

And a film called Blind Shaft:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351299/

(Added to my Netflix queue, should be here in a few days.)

[Stuart]

Awesome, thanks for the recommendations Chris! Mind if I come over and watch that film with you Mike?

[Mike]

Sure thing! If anybody has a large HDTV / surround, etc and a way to accommodate a small group, it'd be fun to have a little mine movie night.

[RockRacer]

Chris Rohrer, one of our friends at the DOGM, pointed out a couple great articles regarding coal mining in China. They give a good idea of the dangers of coal mining and what the situation over there is like.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19203190

(Be sure to watch the slideshow, its pretty good.)

And a film called Blind Shaft:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351299/

(Added to my Netflix queue, should be here in a few days.)

Did you say "friends at the DOGM", I probably don't hang out with you guys enough I guess.

I want to come over though! Except I will probably be working or something that has to do with changing diapers!

[ghosttownhuntress]

We have a projector and a LARGE screen hung on the wall so we can have movie night at our place, given I can get the kids and dogs and all their toys out of the way, I've got plenty of floor space for people.