Kentucky coal mines experienced the safest year in Kentucky’s mining history in 2007, with no underground mining fatalities and the lowest number of surface mining fatalities (two) ever recorded within a 12-month time period. “This is a positive indication that the new mine safety laws, including Kentucky’s new drug testing program, are having the desired effect,” said Susan Bush, commissioner for Kentucky’s Department of Natural Resources. “While this historic decrease in fatalities is very encouraging, we cannot let down our guard or lessen our efforts to ensure that every miner returns home safely every day. The goal remains zero fatalities.”
The Kentucky General Assembly passed major mine safety legislation in 2006 and 2007, and launched the first drug-testing program for miners in the nation. Since the new drug-testing program went into effect in July 2006, 443 certified miners have been suspended.
Kentucky leads the nation in the number of coal mines and is the nation’s third-largest producer of coal. Records back to 1890 indicate that the deadliest decade in mining was in the 1920s, when 1,614 mining fatalities were recorded. Since that time, the number of fatalities has steadily decreased with each decade: 242 fatalities in the 1980s, 117 fatalities in the 1990s and 61 fatalities since 2000.
Add Comment