April 17, 2020

Manchin Leads Colleagues In Calling For MSHA To Implement Emergency Standards To Protect Miners During Coronavirus Pandemic

Charleston, WV – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) led eight Senators in calling for the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to implement emergency standards to protect America’s brave coal miners who continue to power our nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Coal miners are the backbone of this country; they have always risked their lives to provide the power that keeps our lights on and the energy flowing to our homes and businesses. When it comes to the coal industry, the health and safety of our miners must continue to be our top priority. Again, we strongly urge MSHA to immediately issue the emergency standards necessary to protect our nation's miners as we work toward finding solutions to the current public health crisis,” the Senators said in part.

Senator Manchin is joined by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Mark Warner (D-VA).

The letter can be read in full below or click here.

 

Dear President Trump:

We write to echo the request of America’s coal miners by urging the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the federal government's principal agency directed to prevent mine illness, injury, and death, to exercise its authority to issue emergency standards to safeguard miners as the nation continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you are well aware, coal miners are especially prone to the dangers of COVID-19 because of the nature of their work. Unlike other professions where social distancing recommendations are practicable, coal mining requires the continuous clustering of people working in close proximity of one another. Clustering usually begins in the locker rooms where miners prepare for the day's shift by putting on their protective gear. It continues when the miners climb into their mantrips, mine cars, and elevators where they are carried to the extraction sites. While there, the miners will breathe the same air, utilize the same machinery, tools, and instrumentalities to move the coal out of the mine and into the stream of commerce. Once their shifts conclude, the miners will return to the locker rooms, utilize showering facilities, and exchange orders with the next shift before heading home to their families. This process repeats itself between every shift, and at every mine, exponentially increasing the probability of exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

We understand that individual mine operators and local unions have implemented their own measures in an attempt to mitigate the risks of exposure to this highly contagious virus. However, we believe that a uniform implementation of practices detailed within an MSHA emergency standard would ensure that the highest level of precautionary measures were in place at every mine.

Coal miners are the backbone of this country; they have always risked their lives to provide the power that keeps our lights on and the energy flowing to our homes and businesses. When it comes to the coal industry, the health and safety of our miners must continue to be our top priority.

Again, we strongly urge MSHA to immediately issue the emergency standards necessary to protect our nation's miners as we work toward finding solutions to the current public health crisis. Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.