Maps of the state\u2019s long-abandoned coal mines have come under scrutiny by authorities trying to prevent future accidents like the one that left nine miners trapped in a flooded shaft for three days.
\nState authorities will review operations at 34 other mines around the state that are located next to abandoned mines to determine whether changes are warranted, and a new state commission will review mine safety issues.
\nA joint state-federal investigation also will focus on underground maps in investigating how the men became trapped 240 feet underground after breaking through the wall of a flooded adjacent mine.
\nThe miners\u2019 maps showed the adjacent mine to be 300 feet away. Richard Stickler, director of the state Bureau of Deep Mine Safety, said those maps will be a key focus of the joint investigation into the Quecreek mine accident.
\n\u201cYou rely on those maps as being accurate and safe,\u201d said Dave Lauriski, assistant secretary for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
\nOne retired miner suggested Monday that details had been deliberately left off an old map used by the miners to cover up how much coal was removed from the abandoned mine.
\nThe special Pennsylvania commission \u2014 to include coal mine operators, union representatives, mine engineers and surveyors \u2014 will scrutinize the accident as well as the state\u2019s mine-permitting process and emergency-response procedures.
\nThe nine miners have already been interviewed about what happened the night of the accident at the mine, which had a regular inspection only a week before, Lauriski said.
\nRetired miner Joseph Jashienski said the map of the abandoned mine, the Saxman, was wrong because of improper mining techniques used the day before it was abandoned.
\nJashienski, 89, said the now-defunct Saxman Coal and Coke Co. gathered all the coal it could that day by using a machine to carve out a large space in the shape of a baseball diamond. He said the now-deceased mine superintendent who made the map left that detail out because such a procedure would raise red flags with regulators.
\n\u201cHe didn\u2019t want anybody to know he made a ballfield the last day of work,\u201d said Jashienski, who declined to identify the manager. \u201cIf you put on the map that you made a ballfield, the state inspector is going to wonder what you are doing.\u201d
\nScott Roberts, the head of the mineral resource management division of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he wasn\u2019t aware of Jashienski\u2019s claim but said it sounded valid.
\n\u201cThose type of things happen,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t dispute what he said a bit. If he mined in it, he\u2019s firsthand information.\u201d
\nAccording to records, the old mine opened in the 1920s, closed in the 1930s, and then reopened in 1942. Roberts said it seems to have largely shut down in the mid-1950s, but production records indicate some activity may have continued until 1963, perhaps to retrieve columns of coal left to support the roof.
\nA spokesman for the Quecreek Mining Co. and the Black Wolf Coal Co., of Friedens, the operator of the Quecreek mine, had no immediate comment.
\nAt a news conference, five of the rescued miners thanked the public for their support throughout the ordeal. There were smiles and laughter as they talked, three sitting in wheelchairs and the others standing behind them.
\nThe men recalled their relief when a corned beef sandwich and some soda turned up in Dennis Hall\u2019s lunch box.
\n\u201cOne guy took a bite and passed it around,\u201d said Thomas Foy, 51. \u201cI figured we were good for another couple days.\u201d
\nOnly Randy Fogle, 43, remained hospitalized Monday with a bad case of heartburn. None of the men suffered serious injuries, doctors said.
\nAnother rescued miner, John Phillippi, went to the mine with his wife, Michelle, shaking hands with all of the workers and watching as crews dismantled equipment used during the 77-hour rescue effort.
\nThe men were divided on whether they would ever go back into a mine.
\n\u201cI have my doubts; I mean I\u2019ve got almost 30 years in and that\u2019s just too much,\u201d Foy said. \u201cI\u2019ve got seven grandkids and I want to see them guys grow up. That\u2019s it.\u201d
\nHall, 48, who has been mining since he left high school 30 years ago, has already made up his mind: He\u2019s going back to work.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s inevitable. Everybody\u2019s got to work,\u201d he said. \u201cI love my job.\u201d
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014
\nOn the Net:
\nState mine bureau: http:\/\/www.dep.state.pa.us\/dep\/deputate\/minres\/dms\/dms.htm
\nFederal mine safety: http:\/\/www.msha.gov\/welcome.htm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maps of the state\u2019s long-abandoned coal mines have come under scrutiny by authorities trying to prevent future accidents like the one that left nine miners trapped in a flooded shaft for three days. State authorities will review operations at 34 other mines around the state that are located next to abandoned mines to determine whether […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48395\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}