Tony Oppegard
Tony Oppegard
enviable safety
That is not a very enviable safety record.
financial means mining operate safe
To me, if you're under-capitalized and don't have the financial means to operate a safe mine, you shouldn't be in the mining business.
bush certainly desire develop mining safety suffered ties
The Bush administration ushered in this desire to develop cooperative ties between regulators and the mining industry. Safety has certainly suffered as a result.
high indicative poor safety
That is a very high number, and it is usually indicative of a very poor safety record.
indicative operator safety
I would say that these are indicative of an operator who wasn't going to let safety get in the way of production.
flag problems red safety unusual
That's very unusual and a red flag that there's some safety problems at that mine.
affect conditions extremely low mine unsafe
That's extremely low and inappropriate. Most unsafe conditions in a mine would affect more than one person.
finite guys supply
They want guys who are 30 to 35 years old, and there is a finite supply of them.
assessment coal far goes less mines minimum receive ton
Far too many mines receive the minimum assessment of $60, which is less than what a ton of coal goes for these days.
black cheaper coal couple dust exceed expose fine lung mine miner pay tons
You can mine 4 tons of coal in a couple of minutes. It's cheaper to exceed the dust limits, expose a miner to black lung and pay the fine than it is to do the right thing.
good
I've been criticizing them for 20 years for doing it that way. It's not good government.
continuous guy machine miner operate worth
They see tomorrow, they don't see the future. They don't think they're getting their money's worth ... if a guy can't operate a continuous miner or a roof-bolting machine tomorrow.
concerned mine operator sign troubling
Basically, if you see 73 accumulation violations, that's a sign of a mine operator who is not too concerned with safety. It's troubling if you see that many.
act key protect
I can't over-emphasize how important pre-shift examinations are. It is a key provision put in the act to protect miners' safety.