MSHA News Release No. 99-0915
Mine Safety and Health
Administration - USDOL
Contact: Amy Louviere
Phone:
703-235-1452
Released Thursday, September 15,
1999
Simulated Mine Disaster is Setting of Controlled
Chaos
Teams from Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Canada to Compete in U.S. Mine Rescue Contest
Beneath the earth's surface where coal miners toil, emergencies can
come fast and deadly. When fire breaks out, when the mine roof collapses, when
methane threatens to explode, the thin line between life and death is often
marked by specially trained teams of men and women who must be skilled at their
craft and quick in their response.
Mine rescue team members are highly
trained specialists with lifesaving skills they hope they'll never need to use.
On Sept. 22, 23 and 24, more than 40 rescue teams from around the country
and outside the United States will compete in the 1999 National and
International Mine Rescue, First Aid, EMT and Bench Contest at the Kentucky
Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky. This is the first year in the
contest's history to feature foreign teams.
Mine rescue competitions are
designed to test the knowledge of miners who might be called upon to respond to
a real mine emergency. The contest requires six-member teams to solve a
hypothetical mine emergency problem -- such as a fire, explosion or cave-in --
while judges rate them on their adherence to mine rescue procedures and how
quickly they complete specific tasks.
"When you watch a mine rescue
contest, you cannot help but marvel at the physical and emotional effort these
men and women expend," said Davitt McAteer, assistant secretary of labor for
mine safety and health. "Never mind that it's a staged emergency. These contests
are treated like the real thing, because mine rescue teams never know when
they'll be called upon to rescue their colleagues who have become injured or
trapped underground."
Among others, rescue teams from Canada, Poland,
Russia and Ukraine will participate in the international segment of the contest,
and delegations representing several other nations will be on hand to observe
the competition. MSHA will host a press conference at 11 a.m. on Thursday at
the contest site featuring top mining officials and members of international
delegations.
"The mining industry all around the globe faces safety and
health challenges," McAteer said. "These challenges are more difficult in some
parts of the world than in others. As all of us struggle to find ways to prevent
mining disasters, MSHA welcomes this opportunity to share our technical
expertise with other countries. This first-ever international event will focus
also on exchange of information, on equipment, training, technical support and
how we might assist each other in times of need. The bottom line, of course, is
that we all can learn from each other."
In other phases of the
competition, benchmen -- those individuals charged with maintaining rescue
equipment -- must thoroughly inspect breathing devices that have been purposely
tampered with and must correct those defects as quickly as possible. In the
Emergency Medical Technician contest, a primary and secondary EMT tackle
real-life scenarios. EMTs are certified and provide medical care until the
patient arrives at the hospital. In the first aid contest, participants must
demonstrate the correct method of caring for an injured miner.
Mine
rescue training began in the United States in 1910, the year the U.S. Bureau of
Mines was created. Joseph A. Holmes, the bureau's first director, sought a
training vehicle that would provide the mining industry with a cadre of mine
rescue specialists who would be prepared to respond to mine disasters. The
training efforts evolved into local and regional competitions and, a year later,
a national contest.
Schedule of Events
Tuesday, Sept. 21
8 a.m. -- Bench competition
9 a.m. -- First aid competition
2 p.m. -- EMT competition
Wednesday, Sept. 22
8 a.m. -- Preliminary mine
rescue competition
Thursday, Sept. 23
8 a.m. -- Preliminary mine
rescue competition continues
9 a.m. -- International mine rescue
competition
11 a.m. -- Press conference
Friday, Sept. 24
8 a.m. -- National mine rescue competition (finals)
7:30 p.m. -- Awards
banquet
###
Note to Radio Stations: To access the Labor
Department's radio actuality service featuring a soundbite from Davitt McAteer
on the mine rescue contest, please call (800) 877-9002.
Note to TV Stations: A video news release on mine rescue contests has been express mailed to the station's assignment editor.
NATIONAL TEAMS
ALABAMA
Drummond Company, Inc., Shoal Creek Mine Team, Jasper
Jim Walter
Resources, Inc., No. 4 Team, Brookwood
Jim Walter Resources, Inc., No. 5
Team, Brookwood
Jim Walter Resources, Inc., No. 7 Team, Brookwood
State of
Alabama, Team #1, Sumiton
State of Alabama, Team #2, Sumiton
The
Pittsburgh & Midway Coal Mining Company, North River Team, Berry
U.S.
Steel Mining Company, LLC, Oak Grove Team, Adger
COLORADO
Twentymile Coal Company, Twentymile Gold Team, Oak Creek
ILLINOIS
Consolidation Coal Company, Rend Lake Mine Team,
Sesser
Illinois Dept. Of Natural Resources - Office of Mines & Minerals,
Gold Team, Benton
Monterey Coal Company, Pathfinders Team,
Carlinville
Peabody Coal, Marissa Team, Marissa
The American Coal Company,
Galatia Team, Harrisburg
Addington Coal, Turris Team, Elkhart
White County
Coal Corporation, Pattiki Team, Carmi
INDIANA
Indiana Bureau of
Mines, Indiana State Team, Vincennes
KENTUCKY
Arch Coal, Inc.,
Lone Mountain Processing, Inc. Team, Lynch
Consol of Kentucky, Inc., Consol
of Kentucky, Inc. Team, Mousie
Lodestar Energy, Inc., Baker Team,
Clay
Peabody Coal Company, Camp Complex Team, Morganfield
Webster County
Coal Corporation, Dotiki Team, Providence
OHIO
Southern Ohio Coal
Company, Meigs No. 2 Team, Athens
Southern Ohio Coal Company, Meigs No. 31
Mine Team, Athens
PENNSYLVANIA
Consol PA Coal Company, Bailey
Team, West Finley
Consol PA Coal Company, Enlow Fork Team, West
Finley
Consolidation Coal Company, Dilworth Team, Rices Landing
Consol,
Inc., R & P Coal Co., Keystone #1, Shelocta
Cyprus Cumberland Resources,
Cumberland Mine Team, Waynesburg
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corporation, Cyprus
Emerald Team, Waynesburg
TENNESSEE
Tennessee Department of
Labor, Volunteer No. 1 Team, Caryville
UTAH
Energy West Mining,
Blue Team, Huntington
Energy West Mining, Silver Team,
Huntington
VIRGINIA
Consolidation Coal Company, Buchanan #1
Team, Mavisdale
Island Creek Coal Company, Island Creek Consol Team,
Oakwood
Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation, "A" Team, Vansant
Paramont Coal
Corporation, Blue Team, Wise
WEST VIRGINIA
Consol Energy, Inc.,
Shoemaker Mine Rescue Team, Wheeling
Consolidation Coal Company, Blacksville
No. 2 Mine Team, Wana
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation, Federal No. 2
Team, Fairview
Eastern Associated Coal Corporation, Southern Appalachia
Operations Team, Wharton
Massey Coal, Elk Run Team, Sylvester
Mingo Logan
Coal Company, Mountaineer Mine Rescue Team, Wharncliffe
U.S. Steel Mining
Company, LLC, Pinnacle Team, Pineville
Windsor Coal Company (AEP), Windsor
Team, West Liberty
International Teams
Teams representing
Canada, Poland, Russia and Ukraine
