Inspectors start inquiry into mine death in Pa.
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TREMONT, Pa. -- State and federal mine inspectors ventured deep into the Buck Mountain Slope Mine yesterday in search of clues to what caused the Monday morning explosion that killed a miner, Pennsylvania's first underground mining fatality this year.
The eight-man team of investigators included inspectors from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as the mine foreman.
"At this point, it's too early [to tell what happened]," said Joseph Sbaffoni, director of DEP's Bureau of Mine Safety, who traveled to the site from his office in Uniontown.
The blast killed Dale Russell Reightler, 43, of Donaldson, Schuylkill County, who was believed to have been setting the explosive charge used to mine anthracite coal. Five other miners escaped uninjured.
Mr. Sbaffoni said there was no evidence that the explosion involved any burning, which would have been the case if methane gas had ignited in the mine.
"Explosives are used every day," he said regarding the safety question. "It's all part of the coal-mining process in the anthracite mines. They drill holes, and they set off explosives to dislodge the coal."
The investigation, he said, is intended "to determine what happened, why it happened, and then what we can do to prevent it from happening in the future."
In the United States, anthracite -- a harder, cleaner-burning coal, often used for home heating -- is found only in Eastern Pennsylvania, where 7 billion tons of known reserves lie in the Appalachian Mountains between Harrisburg and Scranton. It exists in only a few other places in the world.
"There's some in New England, but no one's mining it," said DEP spokesman Tom Rathbun. "There's anthracite coal in Africa, near the diamonds. And I've been told -- but haven't confirmed -- that there's anthracite in Korea."
Once a huge industry in America, anthracite mining virtually died out after World War II, when mechanical developments made bituminous coal mining easier and much more profitable. Also, bituminous coal is found in fairly level, horizontal seams. Anthracite mines are drilled and blasted vertically.
"There are 15 inspectable anthracite mines in operation in this part of the state," said Mr. Rathbun. "Most of them are family-owned."
The uniqueness of anthracite mines is not limited to the type of coal, its location, and the means by which it is retrieved. The miners themselves use their own terminology, such as "culm" (waste coal piles), rooted in the language of the miners who came to this area from Wales more than a century ago.
Mr. Rathbun said investigators are satisfied that miners contacted authorities within 15 minutes of escaping the blast, as required by new federal mining regulations.
MSHA was concerned that the 15-minute rule had been violated.
"There was no delay," Mr. Rathbun said. "The five miners who exited the mine immediately called 911, which is what they are supposed to do. There was a mine rescue crew right over the hill, and there was an inspector here within minutes."
He added that R&D Coal Co., which owns the mine, "has a good compliance record."
According to MSHA, R&D Coal has nine employees and produces about 15,000 tons of coal yearly. It has been in operation since 1995, with no previously recorded deaths. Its last lost-time injury accident occurred Dec. 1, 2004, when four miners were injured after an air line burst. Two of them suffered broken bones from flying debris and coal.
Mr. Sbaffoni said the inquiry probably would need at least the rest of the week to figure out what went wrong. Mining will not resume until inspectors are done.
"Mining is dangerous, but it doesn't have to be unsafe," Mr. Sbaffoni said. "If you do things the way you're supposed to, follow the rules and regulations, mining is a very safe operation. In Pennsylvania, this is our first coal fatality this year. But one is one too many. We want to be at zero."
First Published October 25, 2006 12:00 am
