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WASHINGTON - The Senate agreed Tuesday evening to authorize a $1 million study on the safety of retreat mining in the wake of the Crandall Canyon tragedy that killed nine miners and rescue workers.
The amendment orders the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in conjunction with the University of Utah and West Virginia University, to examine how retreat mining is conducted in mines more than 1,500 feet deep and make suggestions on how to make the method safer for miners.
Retreat mining - approved for use at the Crandall Canyon mine in rural Utah - involves removing pillars of coal holding up the ceiling and letting the roof collapse, a process deemed dangerous by critics.
Six mine workers and three would-be rescuers were killed in separate cave-ins at the Utah mine in August, prompting several investigations and congressional probes.
Sens. Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch, both Utah Republicans, sponsored the amendment to the spending bill for the departments of Health and Human Services and Labor.
"The tragedy at Crandall Canyon mine struck a chord with not only Utahns, but all Americans," Bennett said in a statement. "I appreciate the quick action and interest by my colleagues in the Senate to further examine the implications of deep coal mining."
The study will focus on what conditions necessitate retreat mining and the susceptibility of a mine to seismic activity when the method is used, according to the amendment. It also will look at ways to improve technology for miners engaged in retreat mining.