Mines No Safer Despite $1 Billion In Fines, Federal Audit Says

[Eugene]

Source: NPR

Mines No Safer Despite $1 Billion In Fines, Federal Audit Says

August 22, 2019 6:00 AM ET
HOWARD BERKES
ROBERT BENINCASA

An audit of the federal system that fines mining companies for unsafe conditions found no evidence that more than $1 billion in mine safety penalties over 18 years deterred unsafe mining practices.

The four-year long audit from the Office of Inspector General of the Labor Department says its analysis of Mine Safety and Health Administration accident and violations data "showed no correlation between penalties paid and the safety of mine operations."

The audit was prompted by a 2014 NPR investigation of thousands of mines and mining companies that did find such a connection. Specifically, NPR found that mines that persistently ignored their penalties had injury rates 50 percent higher than mines that paid their fines. In total, NPR examined the safety records of mines that had failed to pay nearly $70 million in penalties, some with delinquent fines that were decades old.

The auditors instead reported data for mining companies, not individual mines, and in a statement to NPR acknowledged taking a different approach with their review.

"We focused on mine operators as they are responsible for the safety of miners and are assigned the financial responsibility for penalties," the OIG's statement explained.

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Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/08/22/752868484/no-link-between-fines-and-safety-in-mines-government-audit-says

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Cost of doing business

Put a few violators in jail.

That might make a difference.