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Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
Mine Equipment Review Panel issues report, recommendations
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 8, 2006) - A panel of experts mandated under Governor Ernie Fletcher’s mine safety initiative to study the "best available mine safety technologies" and make recommendations to the state Office of Mine Safety and Licensing (OMSL) has issued its first report.
Creation of the Mine Equipment Review Panel was a provision of Senate Bill 200, a product of truly bipartisan effort. Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, introduced the legislation and guided it through the Senate. Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, managed the bill to passage in the House. The law called for "a permanent panel of recognized experts" that would conduct an ongoing review of mine safety equipment but would make an initial report to OMSL within 120 days.
That initial report, which is available online, dealt with four topics:
Wireless tracking and communications devices
Emergency breathing devices known as self-contained self-rescuers (SCSRs)
Mine refuge chambers
Mine seals
The report recommended training on SCSRs that more closely simulates emergency conditions and reporting requirements for SCSRs found to be defective - aiding OMSL in tracking SCSR reliability and performance. The report was the product of seven meetings in which the review panel heard presentations on current and developing mine equipment technologies.
"Keeping up with technological developments in mine safety is critical," said Susan Bush, commissioner of the Department for Natural Resources, parent agency of OMSL. "We appreciate the hard work and diligence of the review panel in developing these recommendations and look forward to reviewing them."
By statute, the head of OMSL - currently Acting Executive Director Johnny Greene - is chairman of the review panel. Other current members are:
Tim Watkins, mine safety expert and mining engineer, U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Mark Watson, Alliance Coal LLC, coal industry representative.
Edgar "Butch" Oldham, United Mine Workers of America health and safety representative and former underground miner.
Dr. Joseph Sottile, associate professor of mining engineering, University of Kentucky.
The report is available online at Web sites of the Department for Natural Resources, www.dnr.ky.gov <http://www.dnr.ky.gov>, and OMSL, www.omsl.ky.gov <http://www.omsl.ky.gov>.
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