McElroy Mine Hosts Chinese Officials

By JOSELYN KING

Political Writer

MOUNDSVILLE — The McElroy Mine in Moundsville has an exemplary safety record, and Chinese mining officials came half way around the world this week with hopes of emulating it.

A total of 28 officials from the People’s Republic of China toured the McElroy Mine operations Wednesday, with 21 of the visitors viewing the preparation plant and the remaining seven actually going into the mine. Among the group was one female mining official.

None of the officials spoke English.

Richard Harris, general superintendent at the McElroy Mine, said this wasn’t the first group to visit the mine to learn about safety procedures. In fact, he said three more tours are scheduled during the next three weeks — one by Australian mining executives, a second from representatives of a mining equipment manufacturer, and the third from a group of investors interested in coal.

The reason for the interest lies within McElroy’s numbers. The coal industry bases safety figures on a total of 200,000 hours worked at a mine. The industry average in 2007 was that 7.26 accidents happened in U.S. coal mines for every 200,000 hours worked.

At the McElroy Mine, the figure was 2.68 injuries per 200,000 hours worked, among the best in the nation, according to Harris.

The mine has received the Longwall USA award that is based upon both safety and production figures. The mine produces 15 million tons of raw coal each year, and has 814 employees.

In China, incidents of injuries and death in coal mines are quite high, said Joseph Cerenzia, Consol spokesman.

While there is an average of about 50 deaths in U.S. coal mines each year, the number is in the thousands in China, he said.

“The Chinese mining industry is wanting to do better,” Cerenzia said. “They’re getting serious about this stuff.”

He cited for example the recent tainting of dog food and toothpaste made in China.

The McElroy Mine was chosen for the tour because some high tech safety innovations are being utilized there. Chips — personal safety communication devices — have been placed in miners’ helmets that register with scanners placed at spots throughout the mine. The readings allow mine officials to track about where their miners are when underground.

But Harris said proper training and oversight remain the best ways to assure the safety of miners. Those who persistently commit unsafe acts can be subject to dismissal.

“Number one, we make sure our people are properly trained,” he said. “We spend a lot of time training folks on how to use self-rescuers and their breathing apparatus. Also, if they are not trained to do a job, they don’t do it.”

The miners carry cards designating what skills they have been trained to do. McElroy miners also are taught what do in the event of a serious emergency underground.

“We train employees in smoke,” Harris said. “We fill a mine with dense smoke, and then make them walk out of it. We train them on what happens bad underground, and how they can hope to avoid it.”

Most importantly, mine officials watch the employees work, according to Harris, and they are informed of any “bad habits” they exhibit that are potential safety problems. The workers are also told to evaluate management on their safety conduct.

“If a worker is injured on the job, we’ve found it’s probably not the first time they have exhibited a bad safety habit,” he said. “Most likely, the injury came about because of a practice they’ve done time and time again. Their luck just runs out.”

Harris said he doesn’t often have to discipline workers for safety-related issues, but when he does he feels like he has failed.

“We have a moral obligation to do what we have to do keep our workers safety, and to instill in them that safety is valued,” he added. “We won’t have zero accidents until they buy into the idea that we want them to go home safely to their family.

“Too often, I hear miners say, ‘I’m going to get hurt sooner or later.’ That is not morally acceptable,” Harris said.