DRUG USE IN MINES TO BE STUDIED

Task Force Seeks To Quantify, Solve Problem

FRANKFORT - State and federal mining officials are forming a task
force to analyze the extent of on-the-job drug and alcohol use in
mines -- and find a way to stop it.

They're also teaming up for a campaign aimed at educating miners about
the dangers of being impaired at work, officials said yesterday at a
news conference.

"Miners who are sober and straight are in the mines, and they're
afraid," said LaJuana Wilcher, secretary of the Kentucky Environmental
and Public Protection Cabinet.

Aside from anecdotes, officials are not sure how bad the problem is
because there is not any solid data on it, Wilcher said.

The task force will include representatives from Virginia and West
Virginia. It should begin meeting in early December and could propose
legislation in the General Assembly's upcoming session, officials said.

In Kentucky, there have been four mine fatalities so far this year.
One miner who was killed had illegal drugs in his system.

The Kentucky Mining Board has been gathering information to gauge
substance abuse and how it affects mine safety.

Some coal operators have proposed mandatory drug testing for
miners.

While drug and alcohol use at mines is illegal, state and federal
agencies can't force miners to take drug tests.

Dave Lauriski, U.S. assistant secretary of labor, said that the rate
of fatal accidents has steadily been decreasing since 2000.

The challenge now is dealing with preventable problems caused by
people who are impaired by drugs or alcohol, said Lauriski, who heads
the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

"We believe that the public education and outreach initiative that
we're launching here today will help this mining community deal with
one portion of the behavioral side of safety and health in our
country's mine: the problem of drug and alcohol abuse and use in the
mining workplace," Lauriski said.

Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, said in a
news release that he welcomed the outreach efforts.

"There is absolutely no room for drugs which impair a miner's ability
to function safely in the mining environment," Caylor said.