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CNN Saturday Morning News
What Dangers to Coal Miners Face?
Aired July 27, 2002 - 07:05 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.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get more perspective now on the dangers of coal mining, and for that, we want to turn now to Jacqui Jeras, here to explain about Pennsylvania and the makeup there, and Jacqui, really, the makeup there that a lot of people might not remember is that it is a big coal mining country, isn't it?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And in order to really understand what these miners and rescue teams are facing, it's important to understand the actual coal makeup of the state of Pennsylvania. Now, nearly half of Pennsylvania is coal country. Here we have the anthracite, or the hard coal, which is in the east, and to the west we have the more commonly used bituminous, or the soft coal, what we call it.
The accident site highlighted there where nearly 25 percent of all coal ever mined in the United States comes from.
Now, there's a history of heartbreak in Pennsylvania coal country as well. State records show that 51,000 people have lost their lives underground in Pennsylvania since 1870. And while the death toll has dropped dramatically due to improved safety techniques and regulations over the years, an average of 21 miners a year still die in coal mines in the United States.
But even with more focus on safety, the mines are still considered one of the most dangerous workplaces in the country.
And here behind me, there you can see a graph of fatalities on the job as of 2000. The coal industry was the most dangerous by far, with 30 deaths per 100,000 people employed.
Now, overall, there are 5,915 on-the-job deaths nationwide in 2000. The U.S. Office of Surface Mining underscores the uncertainty and dangers posed by the abandoned mine shaft, and they quote, "No one knows the exact number or location of all abandoned surface and underground mines in the United States." That's from the U.S. Office of Surface Mining.
And estimates range from several hundred to several thousand, with some of the greatest numbers in the most heavily mined soft coal regions of western Pennsylvania, and that's exactly where those, Catherine and Thomas, that's exactly where the -- guess you're not going to be (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Here we are.
ROBERTS: Here we are.
JERAS: There you are, there you, I knew you were coming.
But anyway, there's no determination, so there could be hundreds or thousands of abandoned mines out there. Nobody actually knows for sure.
ROBERTS: And as you just explained, Pennsylvania, a big coal country area.
JERAS: Right.
ROBERTS: How many people still working in the mining industry, then?
JERAS: Not all that many, only about 10,000.
CALLAWAY: You know, but still, that just makes the numbers of the fatalities seem that much more dramatic. Amazing.
JERAS: Absolutely.
CALLAWAY: How many mines are there in that area in Pennsylvania?
JERAS: Well, there are about 900 mines that are there actually working right now. But as I mentioned, hundreds, maybe even thousands of abandoned mines still out there.
CALLAWAY: Right. I didn't realize there were that many fatalities. I always think of the dangers of mining being just the environment itself, for the air quality...
JERAS: Right.
CALLAWAY: ... et cetera.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: And coal that they inhale.
CALLAWAY: Didn't realize there were that many collapses.
Thank you very much, Jacqui.
JERAS: You bet.
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