DRUGS IN THE MINES

This week, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration kicked
off a "Make the Right Decision" safety awareness campaign that it
hopes will further reduce mining deaths and injuries, the numbers of
which remain too high.

But, at the same time, MSHA chief David Dye refused to embrace the
idea of federal drug testing, saying that any such initiative should
be run by the coal industry and state regulators. MSHA-administered
tests for the use of controlled substances by miners would require
passage of new federal law, which Mr. Dye described as "always a long
and arduous process."

The industry and the United Mine Workers union also have no
enthusiasm for adding drug tests to MSHA's mandate. But the Kentucky
Coal Association supports a state-operated anti-drug regime.

This isn't surprising. Coal operators certainly don't want their
employees showing up for inherently dangerous work in an altered
state, or carrying the drugs needed to get altered. But they also
think miners themselves, not regulators, should take first
responsibility for their own safety.

There is an obvious argument for uniformly administered federal drug
testing: It would avoid a patchwork of different programs that could
advantage mining firms in some states and disadvantage others.

But if federal drug testing is a non-starter for the Bush
administration, the next best thing may be the state-run program that
Environmental and Public Protection Secretary LaJuana Wilcher wants
to develop, with the help of a task force that's now at work.

Any such program should take a cue from MSHA's new safety campaign
and direct itself not just to miners but to their bosses. "Make the
Right Decision" will address "miners and mine operators," "miners and
mine management." So should the design of any state drug testing.