Washington - Criticism grew Tuesday of top government mining
regulators, with underground rescue operations for six trapped Utah
miners suspended indefinitely.
The decision against resuming digging was taken following
evaluations that further work would pose an unjustified risk to
rescuers, because there had been no sign of life from the men since
the mine collapsed on August 6.
Sonny Olsen, a spokesman for the miners' families, blasted the
decision, telling CNN that the families believed the missing men were
still alive. He urged mine owner Bob Murray to 'use every asset at
his disposal to find their loved ones.'
Three rescue workers were killed Thursday when a mine tunnel caved
in, further highlighting the precarious conditions in the mine.
'I don't know whether the miners will be found, but I'm not
optimistic they will be found alive,' said Murray, chief executive of
Murray Energy Corp, co-owner of the mine in Crandall Canyon, Utah.
The decision was backed by Richard Stickler, head of the Mine
Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the federal regulatory
agency that in May authorized a controversial coal extraction method
known as 'retreat mining.' The technique leaves the entire mountain
above the mine supported only by individual columns of coal, which
themselves are then extracted, causing massive cave-ins.
Stickler, a former mine company executive, was placed atop the
MSHA in October 2006 by US President George W Bush in an appointment
that circumvented Congress. Previously, Stickler was twice rejected
by the US Senate over concerns by legislators from both parties that
the mines he had managed incurred safety-violation rates at double
the industry standard, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, which has
been closely covering the mine story.
Shortly after Stickler's appointment, a lower-ranking MSHA
official approved the plan for retreat mining, which has been badly
criticized by some mine-safety experts.
Tony Oppegard, a former MSHA senior adviser and a Kentucky state
mining regulator, told the Salt Lake Tribune that retreat mining at
the Utah mountain posed serious risks.
'Everyone understands that in the West you have tremendous
pressure on those coal pillars from the overburden, and they are
subject to bursting or bursting of the ribs,' Oppegard said. 'In
either case, that can be deadly for coal miners.'
Robert Ferriter, a 27-year MSHA veteran and director of the mine
safety programme at the Colorado School of Mines, said he was
surprised that the federal government had authorized the final bout
of retreat mining.
'I'm surprised that they would try to take that last section,'
Ferriter said. 'It raises questions about the thoroughness of the
MSHA review.'
Four separate drill holes have failed to unearth any sign of life.
With digging halted since last week's deadly accident, drilling
continues on a fifth hole, the deepest yet at more than 600 metres
into the mountain.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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