CNN: West Virginia tests 9 coal miners' air packs; all fail

[DeepModem Mom]

West Virginia tests 9 coal miners' air packs; all fail
September 1, 2006

(CNN) -- In a random test of nine emergency air packs used by West Virginia coal miners, all nine failed, the state's Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training said Thursday.

The CSE SR-100 is manufactured by Pennsylvania-based CSE Corp., which came under scrutiny after the lone survivor of the Sago Mine disaster sued it and other companies that supplied equipment used in the West Virginia mine.

Randy McCloy Jr., one of 13 men trapped after a January 2 explosion, spent 41 hours in the mine. The other 12 miners died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The lawsuit against CSE, filed last week, alleges that four of the air packs used by the miners were defective. However, CSE issued a statement Wednesday saying state investigators determined that each respirator was functioning properly.

CSE President Scott Shearer wouldn't say whether the Sago miners used SR-100s because of an ongoing federal investigation....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/01/miner.oxygen/index.html

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Bush OSHA Administrators propose remedy...

All further testing of safety equipment is to be suspended.

[tanyev]

2. Suspended until the testing procedures can be reviewed.

If 9 air packs failed, something must be wrong with the testing methodology.




:sarcasm:

[Kagemusha]

3. I wish I could laugh.

But somehow your comment very much hits home.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Not Failures - Just Birth Pangs [eom]

[Stargazer99]

5. this is what happens when privitizing holds the power

This is equvalent to murder that has happened to these miners. The company that made the units, the employer and the government inspection authority ought to be sued royally. That would eliminate the finger pointing and start each enitity to understand its their bull being gored. Repub/Con talk about individual responsibility, well how about responsibility of business and government...they should not have a free pass.

[Rose Siding]

6. Guess it's time to appoint a Company man to that Govt Safety Office

Or is that why it's taken so LONG to get this test done?