Mining Truths

Here are some more unpleasant and unnerving facts about the West Virginia mine in which twelve employees died: The U.S. Mining and Safety and Health Administration cited the mine's owners for fifty - fifty - violations since October, and for 2005 the mine lost nearly three times the number of work days to nonfatal accidents as the national average of the entire mining industry. Mining is in and of itself a dangerous job, but this company made it even more dangerous than it had to be due to stupidity and negligence. In a de-regulatory business environment like we have today, committing federal violations is actually considered perfectly all right. . . if you can get away with it. Not so this time. :-(