The Emery Mining Corp., which manages the Wilberg mine, received 87 citations for violating fire regulations and 29 for violating rock-dust regulations. (Rock dust is crushed limestone that must be spread throughout the mine to reduce the danger of coal dust igniting.)

In 1983 the company got 12 citations for coal-dust accumulation, three of which were termed “serious and substantial,” meaning they posed an immediate danger of injury or death. Emery was also cited for 24 violations on safety equipment.

In 1984 the company received 13 citations for coal-dust accumulation and 30 for faulty safety equipment. From Sept. 30 to Dec. 20, 1984, the company had been cited for “serious and substantial” violations four times.

The accident rate at Wilberg was 37.21 per 200,000 miner-hours of work in 1982. The national average that year was 12.21. In 1983, the Wilberg accident rate was 17.01, while the national average was 10.44. In 1984, the Wilberg rate was 11.48, and the national rate was 10.06.

The government’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has said that the accident rate at Wilberg improved in the last two years, going by the officially reported rate. But since 1982 the mine has introduced a bonus plan that covers up what the real accident rate is.

The way the bonus plan works is this: based on how much coal is produced in the mine as a whole, every miner and boss gets a bonus. However, the size of the bonus is reduced for every reported loss of work time due to injury. Thus the pressure is on to not report injuries. The true accident rate in the Wilberg mine in the last two years is unknown.

What is known is that through layoffs and job combinations, important tasks related to safety have taken a back seat to production and profit.

For example, one of the jobs the company has eliminated is the “hawkshack” job. This was a fulltime job for one miner on each shift, who was responsible for monitoring a fire-detection board and a minewide phone communications system. The phone dispatch has been moved to the warehouse and become an added job for the warehouseman, who is also responsible for other tasks. The fire monitoring system has been moved to the bathhouse and lamphouse, where miners with other jobs are also expected to watch for fires.
 
 
Related articles:
Company greed killed coal miners in Utah
20 years since Wilberg mine disaster; how Emery Mining Corp. tried to hide facts
33 miners, rescuers die in blast at China mine  
 
 
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