New study finds small underground coal mines in US safer than large mines

Safety in the US mining industry has made significant progress over the decades. However, the early 2010 disaster in West Virginia was the worst since 1970 and will potentially have a significant impact on mine safety legislation, similar to the MINER Act of 2006, which was a response to the Sago Mine disaster and other mine fatalities in early 2006.

Generally, based on the historically elevated fatality rate, safety experts in the industry believe that the small mines have a relatively poor safety record as compared to the large mines; however, the results of a new study by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration indicate that the opposite is likely true.

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