Report: Give miners better escape training, tools

Published



MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Federal regulators and safety officials should consider requiring more backup air supplies and work to develop better breathing devices that would help the nation’s coal miners escape underground emergencies, a panel of experts said in a report released Thursday.

The report from the National Research Council makes seven wide-ranging recommendations to two agencies — the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the National Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Among other things, it urges better technology, including systems for communicating with people on the surface, real-time gas monitors and fail-safe tracking devices.

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