All those can be litigated. |
Basically, if you see 73 accumulation violations, that's a sign of a mine operator who is not too concerned with safety. It's troubling if you see that many. |
Far too many mines receive the minimum assessment of $60, which is less than what a ton of coal goes for these days. |
From the time that the company got its first unwarrantable failure, that put them on alert that those examinations weren't being conducted properly. Such unwarrantable failure is just intolerable, and that should be referred to the U.S. attorney for possible criminal prosecution. |
He made the same claims: That all Kentucky miners were on drugs and didn't work hard, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. |
I can't over-emphasize how important pre-shift examinations are. It is a key provision put in the act to protect miners' safety. |
I would say that these are indicative of an operator who wasn't going to let safety get in the way of production. |
I've been criticizing them for 20 years for doing it that way. It's not good government. |
If an operator is undercapitalized to the extent that he can't pay his fines, he shouldn't be in business. You can bet he's skimping on safety. |
If you have a foreman who is not doing pre-shift examinations properly, you should discharge that person, because every miner working there is relying on that person. |
If you know they're not going to collect, what's your incentive to follow the law? |
It's like fining you or me 25 cents for a speeding violation. |
It's the next enforcement step and it's never used. |
Most of the fines are not high enough to have a real deterrent effect. If the operators know they're not going to have to pay the fines, or that they will be minimal fines, they just factor that into the cost of doing business. |
That is a very high number, and it is usually indicative of a very poor safety record. |