In spite of repeated health warnings, mining activities will continue much like before

Jul 19, 2012 11:38 GMT  ·  By

Not long ago, we reported on how US's coal mining industry not only has severe negative consequences on the environment, but also threatens the health and sometimes even the lives of those working for such companies.

Thus, a report argued that throughout the past decade, the US has seen twice as many cases of black lungs disease, which is basically a respiratory conditions caused by inhaling a bit too much coal dust.

Naturally, environmentalists and various health organizations asked that the government came up with a new legislation for this industry, the end goal being that of making it safer for miners to carry on with their activities.

However, recent news informs us that the American Republican Party chooses not to act on these warnings, and that its members have even taken steps towards keeping the Mine Safety and Health Committee from trying to limit coal dust exposure in mining activities.

Thus, as Think Progress reports, a draft budget concerning the year 2013 and addressed to the Department of Labor specifically reads that:

“None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to continue the development of or otherwise implement the Lowering Miners' Exposure to Coal Mine Dust, Including 20 Continuous Personal Dust Monitors regulation being developed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration of the Department of Labor.”

It was expected that such a stipulation would foster serious debates, and that those directly affected by it would not take long in expressing their complaints.

Speaking on behalf of coal workers all over America, Cecil Roberts from United Mine Workers of America told the press that, should the Republicans be allowed to have their way, the end result would be “nothing more than a potential death sentence for thousands of American miners.”

As far as we are concerned, a new legislation controlling mining operations is indeed something that must be given due consideration, as two most valuable assets of our society are at stake: public health and the wellbeing of the environment.