STATE HELP SOUGHT ON DRUG USE BY MINERS

Coal Operators Call Problem Common

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. - Kentucky coal operators told state mining
regulators yesterday that they are struggling with widespread drug
abuse in mines, and that the state needs to help them combat the problem.

Some miners who are fired from one mine for using drugs just get a job
at another mine to make enough to buy more drugs, while mine operators
could face legal problems if they disclose a fired miner's drug
history, the Kentucky Mining Board was told.

"I've never seen nothing as bad as the drug problem," said Linton
Griffith, an official with Dags Branch Coal Co. in Pike County.

"If there's not something done, it'll only get worse."

Donna Johnson, another mine operator, said companies are so desperate
for workers "we have to take whoever comes." If a miner fails a
company's drug test, she said, they "know how to get past the system."

"We are concerned as operators that we are going to get slammed" for
reporting drug abuse, she said. "We need the guidelines for operating
(a safe mine) to keep the industry alive."

Griffith, Johnson and several other coal operators aired their
concerns at a Mining Board public hearing to discuss ways to diminish
drug and alcohol abuse by miners. About 50 people attended the hearing.

The board earlier this year endorsed legislation that would allow
state-sponsored drug testing at mines and is expected to recommend a
specific plan to the General Assembly in the coming months.

No testing authority

Drug and alcohol use at mines is illegal, but state and federal
agencies have no authority to test miners for drugs. The state
Department of Mines and Minerals last year considered asking state
legislators for such authority but didn't, for reasons that were never
made clear.

The Mining Board is examining ways to require drug tests after all
accidents and when "reasonable suspicion" exists of drug use, said
Tony Oppegard, general counsel of the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety
and Licensing.

Currently, coal companies can create their own testing policies but
are not required to do so.

Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, a former underground coal miner and the
only state legislator to attend yesterday's meeting, said one solution
to the drug problem involves creating a better workplace environment
in mines.

"We have to empower our miners to report drug use without fear of
retaliation," Webb said.

After the meeting, Webb said she has yet to decide what, if any,
legislation is needed to address the problem.

Some speakers at yesterday's hearing praised a workplace safety
program in Tennessee that offers discounts on workers' compensation
premiums to companies that have drug-free workplace policies.

Also discussed was whether coal operators should be required to notify
the state when a miner is fired for drug violations.

Susan Bush, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Natural
Resources, which oversees Mine Safety and Licensing, has said the
hearing and an earlier hearing in Madisonville would serve as
fact-finding missions to help state officials grasp the extent of the
drug problem.

A `growing epidemic'

Tim Miller, a member of the board who represents the United Mine
Workers union, said he has received alarming reports of miners
snorting or injecting prescription drugs, including the painkiller
OxyContin.

"One of our biggest concerns is this growing epidemic," Miller said.
"The first question we ask after an accident is whether drugs were
involved."

Last year, a Johnson County miner was killed and a co-worker was
seriously injured in an explosion at Cody Mining Co. in McDowell, in
Floyd County. Inspectors found a plastic bag containing 0.3 gram of
marijuana at the mine, as well as hydrocodone, a painkiller, and an
autopsy on the miner who was killed found illegal drugs in his system.

Four months after the Cody explosion, state regulators cited a Harlan
County mine after inspectors found a marijuana joint belonging to a
miner.

State can't bring cases

But Oppegard said the state has been unable to bring cases against
miners suspected of using drugs at work because drug testing is not
required.

Constance McGuire, owner of East Kentucky Occupational Health Services
in Prestonsburg, a company that conducts drug screenings at several
coal operations, said marijuana and prescription pills are the drugs
most commonly found when tests come back positive.

Half of the miners at one Eastern Kentucky site tested positive for
drugs, McGuire said. She did not identify the mine.

At yesterday's meeting, mining officials from Virginia and West
Virginia said they hope to follow Kentucky's lead in implementing a
drug-testing policy.

"We pray this board can come up with guidelines that maybe the rest of
us can adapt," said Carroll Green, an official with the Virginia
Division of Mines.

Dave Blankenship of TECO Coal Corp. in Corbin said he and other coal
operators have an urgent need to rid mines of drugs.

"We're not going to tolerate people working for us who create unsafe
conditions," Blankenship said.

Drugs in mines

The Kentucky Mining Board has held public hearings in Madisonville and
Prestonsburg to discuss state-sponsored drug testing of coal miners.
The board has endorsed legislation that would allow state inspectors
to test miners for drug use or require coal companies to perform such
tests. The board is accepting written comments until Sept. 18 and is
then expected to make a recommendation to the General Assembly. Send
comments to: Kentucky Mining Board, 1025 Capital Center Drive,
Frankfort, KY 40601.