HEARINGS FOCUS ON MINERS, DRUGS

Drug And Alcohol Use In Coal Mines To Be Discussed At 2 Meetings

Associated Press

FRANKFORT - The Kentucky Mining Board will hold public hearings in June and
August to gather information about drug and alcohol abuse among coal miners.

The hearings will be held at Madisonville Community College at noon on June
10, and at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonsburg at noon on Aug. 19.

The move is being applauded by industry representatives who say coal mines
are no place for people who might be impaired.

"There's no crisis that precipitated this," said Bill Caylor, president of
the Kentucky Coal Association. "But it is a legitimate issue that needs to
be addressed, and I'm convinced that it will improve safety in the mines."

B & D Mining was cited by state regulators in September after a surprise
underground search by inspectors turned up marijuana belonging to a miner.
The company fired the miner and a shift superintendent.

State law prohibits people from being in mines while under the influence of
alcohol or drugs. But regulatory agencies have no authority to administer
drug tests to miners.

An investigation last June into an explosion at Cody Mining Co. in Floyd
County that killed a miner also led to the discovery of marijuana.

The explosion killed Paul Blair, 21, of Paintsville. Co-worker, Robert
Ratliff Jr., 28, also of Paintsville, was seriously injured. Another
employee at that mine later told investigators he saw two miners using
drugs on the job.

Holly McCoy, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals,
said the public hearings were scheduled not just to gather information
about drug use but also to determine what can be done to curtail the problem.