space shuttle, space: 2006_05_01_spewingforth

PERMALINK Posted 11:23 PM by Jordan

Sago Update: Malfunctioning Alarms, Missing Lightning Arrestors, Weak Seals

and an "Improbably Agile Bolt of Lightning"

Workplace accidents generally have many causes. There are the "direct"

causes -- someone pushed the wrong button, didn't follow written

procedures or ignored an alarm.

Then there are the root, or systemic causes: the pressure to speed

productoin that causes workers to rush and neglect safe work

procedures, written procedures that don't match the current

configuration of the workplace and that no one is trained to follow,

alarms that are always malfunctioning, so everyone ignores them.

So when you seen something like this, you need to suspect that there's

something bad going on in this workplace.

At 6:10 a.m. on Jan. 2, a light on Sago Mine dispatcher Bill

Chisolm's computer screen changed from green to red.

The red light was an alarm. It warned Chisolm of an increase in

carbon monoxide levels along the conveyor belt in Sago's 1 Left

section.

Under mine policy and federal rules, the 26 parts per million of

carbon monoxide detected should have prompted an evacuation.

Workers should have been cleared from areas deeper underground,

probably including a crew headed to work in the next section over,

called 2 Left.

But Chisolm ignored the alarm. He was sure it was a malfunction,

and not a real signal of any problems underground, according to a

sworn statement given to government investigators.

About 20 minutes later, shortly after 6:30 a.m., an explosion

ripped through the Sago Mine.

First reaction is "Ah ha! Stupid worker mistake. Fire the bastard and

all will be well."

But not so fast.

First, that alarm may not have been warning of the conditions that led

to the explosion and fire that killed 12 Sago miners. But more

important, further investigation reveals that Bill Chisolm's failure

to heed the alarm points not to an individual mistake, but to serious

systemic safety problems at the mine.

Under federal rules, mine dispatchers are required to closely

investigate the cause of any carbon monoxide alarm that indicates

more than 10 parts per million of the gas. Miners who are not

investigating the problem are to be evacuated from the area, the

rules state.

At Sago, several mine dispatchers testified that they received very

limited training on how to respond to mine carbon monoxide alarms.

Several dispatchers were unable to answer detailed questions

investigators asked about logs from the mine's carbon monoxide

monitoring system.

Dispatcher Nathan Eye testified that when he took the job, it "was

supposed to be a temporary position over there, and I kind of got

stuck with it."

Eye said he did not know what concentration of carbon monoxide

would require a mine evacuation.

"It had never really been discussed, but I would figure anything

about 20 parts per million would be way too much to leave anybody

[inside]," Eye said.

Dispatchers told investigators that the carbon monoxide alarms

frequently malfunctioned at the Sago Mine.

"I've had CO monitors malfunction for no apparent reason,"

dispatcher Vernon Hofer said during a Jan. 23 interview. "They just

malfunction.

"And I don't know the cause of the malfunction or why they -- and

when they show an alarm, if at the point in time that I check them,

everything appears to be OK," Hofer said.

Dispatchers also indicated they used the alarm system for purposes

other than keeping an eye on carbon monoxide levels.

Chisolm told investigators that dispatchers would set off audible

carbon monoxide alarms in the Sago Mine, "if you're having trouble

getting a hold of a section, it could be maybe your mom called,

she's in the hospital or anything."

In interviews with investigators, Sago Mine managers also have

revealed that they regularly failed to keep accurate records of the

operations of the mine fan that was meant to keep clean air flowing

through the underground workings.

Meanwhile the ongoing investigation of the Sago disaster is focusing

on what caused the methane explosion in a closed off part of the mine.

Sago's owner, International Coal Group (ICG), issued a report saying

that a lightning strike caused the explosion. But investigators can't

figure out how what the Pittsburgh Post Gazette calls "an improbably

agile bolt of lightning" traveled 1-1/2 miles from the mouth of the

mine, across the Buckhannon River, then another 13,000 feet to the

sealed portion of the mine.

And blaming the explosion on lightning -- even if it's true -- may not

get ICG off the hook. Ken Ward of the Charleston Gazette also reports

that

The Sago Mine violated basic electrical safety rules by not

installing equipment to prevent lightning from sending a charge

into underground mine workings, U.S. and West Virginia

investigators have learned.

At least two electrical systems at Sago were not equipped with

lightning arresters similar to surge protectors, the mine's chief

electrician told investigators in a sworn statement.

***

Sago Mine owner International Coal Group has pushed the theory that

lightning caused the explosion. But company press releases have not

mentioned the serious electrical violations related to the lack of

lightning-protection devices.

***

Under federal mine safety rules, all power lines and phone cables

that lead into underground mines must be equipped with lightning

arresters.

Lightning arresters are protective devices that limit surges of

electricity from lightning strikes or equipment failures. They

prevent damage to electrical equipment and, in the case of

underground coal mines, help to prevent lightning from sparking

fires or explosions.

Oops.

The investigation is also looking into the blocks that were used to

seal the closed-off part of the mine:

The seals were constructed from Omega Block, a cement-and-fiber

foam block favored by many mine operators because they are lighter

than the traditional cement blocks used to seal abandoned areas of

mines.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration first approved the blocks

for use nearly a decade ago, but more recently allowed the

installation of the blocks without the traditional "hitching" --

the practice of digging a notch into the mine wall and ceiling to

secure the seal. Unhitched Omega Block walls were approved after

one such wall withstood the minimum 20 pounds per square inch blast

pressure during a test of seals meant to be erected during mine

emergencies.

But testimony by the men who installed the seals at Sago suggests

the wall did not follow the approved plan in all instances and did

not match the construction of the Omega Block wall that passed a 20

psi test.

Notably, they testified that they leveled out the floor by laying

dry mortar into gaps in the mine floor and then setting the wall

atop it. Plans called for all sides of the block floor to be

mortared with a special product called BlocBond.

Kathy Snyder at Minesafety Watch reports that a two-day public hearing

into the Sago tragedy starts tomorrow in Buckhannon, W.Va. MSHA and

the state will be running the hearings jointly. Davitt McAteer, former

head of MSHA, is chairing.

Labels: Coal Mining, Sago

PERMALINK Posted 10:19 PM by Jordan

AFL and Change To Win: Back To The Future, or Something....

I'm ust getting around to writing about this mildly amusing and ironic

story. NY Times labor reporter Steve Greenhouse reported last week

about a proposal by Change to Win (the unions that broke away from the

AFL-CIO last year) to get together with the AFL-CIO to form another

labor federation that would do many of the things they criticized the

AFL-CIO for spending too many resources on: political action,

grass-roots mobilization, member education, legislative initiatives,

and health and safety.

Change to Win Chair Anna Burger sent a letter to AFL-CIO President

John Sweeney on April 11 suggesting they work together on common

issues:

Several important pending issues, including immigration, health

care, retirement security, labor law reform and the looming 2006

election cycle make it imperative that we coordinate our strategies

and resources in the interests of all working people in this

country.

She suggested creating a "permanent structure"

In a response, Sweeney declared himself "mystified" at Burger's

proposal to create "a third federation," and although he supports

coordinating strategies and resources,

the last thing we can imagine doing -- less than ayear after SEIU,

UFCW, UNITE HERE and the Teamsters voluntarily left the Federation

-- is investing time and resources in "cofounding" yet a third

labor federation, with all the bureacracy, expense and additional

staffing that would entail. And we cannot ignore the irony that the

united federation of all unions that you propose...precisely

describes the work of the AFL-CIO before the disaffiliations last

July.

Now I'm not privy to all the inside plotting and planning of all the

different sides, but on the surface it looks like Change to Win is

figuring out that while greatly increased organizing is essential to

ensuring workers' rights, it's not sufficient: you also need to

translate some of that energy into policy and political power in

Washington where many of the programs are developed and implemented

that can help -- or hurt -- working people.

One of those important issues, of course, is workplace safety and

health. And although Change to Win unions are doing a good job

integrating workplace safety with organizing (in their hotel campaign

and University of Florida, for example), they have no political

program equivalent to the dearly departed AFL-CIO health and Safety

Department (R.I.P.) or even the activities of the remaining AFL-CIO

health and safety staff.

So here's my suggestion: Both federations should take note of the life

and death struggles that workers are facing every day on the job, and

both should establish well-staffed and fully funded health and safety

departments -- which could then coordinate their activities in

Washington and in workplaces around the country.

Now there's a crazy proposal I could get behind.

Labels: AFL-CIO

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