This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After the Crandall Canyon Mine accident we have had an endless barrage of news stories and commentary. The recent Tribune editorial points fingers at the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration ("MSHA myopia: Agency fails to do its duty - protect miners," Our View, March 13). When it comes to work-related fatalities, the Tribune and Congress have a myopic view.
Labor statistics show that deaths related to mining are a tiny fraction of those in other industries. For example, construction, manufacturing, transportation and agriculture each contribute to more work-related fatalities than mining. Yet the column-inches of space devoted to this one industry give the opposite impression. It is understandable that mining-related accidents play on primal fears and lend an emotional hook to a story, but if our real interest is in preventing unnecessary deaths, the Tribune and Congress should widen their view.
David Taylor
Salt Lake City
