Criticism grows as Utah mine rescue suspended

Aug 21, 2007, 23:51 GMT

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.