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American Morning

Interview with Betsy Mallison

Aired July 26, 2002 - 07:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get back to Pennsylvania right now, where rescue workers this morning are drilling and pumping and praying that they can reach nine trapped coal miners in time.

The miners, pinned in a shaft about 240 feet below the surface. That area down there filling up with millions of gallons of water, we are told. They have been there since Wednesday night when they accidentally broke through into a flooded abandoned mine.

Betsy Mallison, the State Department of Environmental Protection, is with us now from the command center in Somerset, Pennsylvania.

Good morning to you. It's daybreak there. First things first, an update from overnight, where do we stand, Betsy?

BETSY MALLISON, SPOKESPERSON, PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: We are down at about 100 feet in the drilling process. We have had a few problems with the drill overnight, but work is continuing and will continue through the day.

HEMMER: Betsy, there was a report yesterday that you wanted to reach them by daybreak today. That timeline has not been met. How does that affect things now?

MALLISON: Well, certainly we are committed to being here until it's done. We are committed to getting in there and getting the miners out.

The timeline is always a shaky thing. As this process continues, it goes through some lighter rock, the process goes quickly. And that's -- when we were at the press conference last night, we were in that first level of rock. It was going very smoothly.

As we get into the denser rock, it does slow down. We had some trouble with the drill bit. So (AUDIO GAP) are going to be here through the day and as long as it takes.

We do have good news on the water front however. We have nine pumps in place, and are pumping water out of the mine at a foot an hour.

HEMMER: Has there been any contact since yesterday? The report from Brian Palmer and others, 11:30 a.m. local time. Have you tried to contact them since that point? And have you heard anything in response?

MALLISON: We have not tried to contact them, because of the work that's being done on the drill rig. The theory is that they are well aware, with all of the noise of the drilling rig, that we are working to get to them as quickly as possible. The problem with the drilling rig is it is so loud, and we can't pick up anything with the seismographs.

HEMMER: Yes, can you us an idea of what the conditions might be like 200 feet below?

MALLISON: It's very dark, it's probably very wet, and the temperature is about 55 degrees. So we are concerned about the folks getting hypothermia. We have a special medical response team on standby. It's called the SMART team. They are doctors from all over the state of Pennsylvania that come together for mine rescue. They are here. They are ready to pull them out as soon as we can get to them.

HEMMER: Yes, Betsy, the families, I know, of the miners have arrived. I think they started arriving yesterday. Where are they now? What kind of information are you giving them?

MALLISON: They are sequestered in a fire hall not far from this site. The governor was with them at least twice yesterday to talk with them. The governor took a tour of the site yesterday to take a look at the progress, and then went to talk with the family members, spent at least an hour in the fire hall with them, talking with each of them individually.

HEMMER: Go back in time for you -- for us, if you could, Betsy. How often do you come across a situation like this?

MALLISON: Well, this one is very unusual, because of the mine breakout and the amount of water we have in a mine. We do have a Web site up on our DEP Web site that does have some history of mining fatalities in Pennsylvania throughout the years. We don't have any kind of incidents to compare to this one, though.

HEMMER: Well, best of luck, OK? Betsy Mallison, again, working the scene there near Somerset, Pennsylvania.

MALLISON: Thank you so much.

HEMMER: You guys are going to need it, keep us posted, OK?

MALLISON: We will.

HEMMER: All right.

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