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NEWS & LETTERS, March-April 2005China's mine disasters no accident
Detroit--The coal mine explosion that blasted through
the Sunjiawan mine in northeast China on Feb. 4 killed at least 211 miners and
seriously injured 28 survivors in the worst mine disaster since the Communist
Party took control of the country in l949. As horrifying as this explosion was,
however, it pales in comparison to the total of more than 6,000 coal miners who
were killed last year--more than 16 deaths a day, according to reported official
figures that do not include hundreds, if not thousands, more unreported deaths. Actually the first mine safety laws were passed in 2002.
China did not start to record industrial deaths until the late l990s, and their
records are far from accurate. Behind these appalling deaths is a coal industry with
outmoded equipment and technology that is incapable of providing safe mining
conditions for an exploding economy that gets 70% of its energy from coal.
China is the world’s largest coal producer, extracting more than 1.9
billion tons of coal a year. It uses 80% of the coal produced in the world. But
even this is not adequate, resulting in thousands of electrical brownouts
throughout China. This energy-hungry economy spawns a chaotic coal
industry, often marked by deadly and illegal practices. There are two major mine
divisions: larger ones run by the government, and smaller ones with private
owners. The larger mines are the safest, but often even these do not have the
modern equipment and mining practices needed for safe mining. In some respects, the energy dependence on coal in China
is similar to the conditions existing in America during the l950s when I worked
in the coal mines in West Virginia. Then coal was king, and provided power for
almost everything, including home heat, electricity, railroads, water
transportation and virtually all of U.S. industry. Many mines in China are depleted, and miners travel deep
and far to reach the coal seams, which give off deadly methane gas that requires
modern ventilation techniques and equipment to drive the gas out. Without this
vital knowledge and equipment, the gas accumulates. A simple electrical spark
can set off a deadly gas explosion, which in turn can ignite a much more
destructive coal dust explosion. These were the conditions that resulted in a mine
explosion last October that killed 148 Chinese miners, another explosion in
November that killed l66 more, and another on Feb. 5, the day after the
Sunjiawan mine disaster, that killed 28 more miners. The last one was in an illegal mine that had been shut
down because it was too dangerous, but reopened by a private "owner,"
a frequent practice. It is often tolerated because of the voracious need for
coal, which also contributes to the deadly unsafe conditions that the miners are
forced to endure. Adding to the horrific conditions of many miners is the
fact that millions are migrant workers from rural agricultural areas, often
ignorant, illiterate and easy victims of ruthlessly exploitative mine owners.
All is not, however, without confrontations, often bordering on open revolt,
among the miners. Reports occasionally filter through of owners who are
"educated" by their miners to mend their ways, and killed if they
don’t. --Andy Phillips |
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