Kentucky coal mines with 10 or fewer workers must have at least two emergency medical or mine emergency technicians on shift — a rule instituted in the wake of a number of coal mining deaths in the early 2000s that led to state safety precautions over and above federal regulations.
One of the men whose death was ruled preventable by inspectors was Bud Morris. His widow, Stella, said the rule could have saved her late husband's life.
"For the last 19 years, I've had to deal with the fact of knowing had there been another medic on duty that day, we may still have Bud here. My son wouldn't have had to have grown up without his father," she said.
But under House Bill 196, the number of emergency technicians in the small-scale mines would go from two to one.
Sen. Philip Wheeler, who has represented coal miners in court, acknowledged what he called a "balancing act" between safety and economics — and argued in committee that requiring the smallest mines to staff as many emergency trained workers as those with up to 50 miners puts the more modest operations at a disadvantage.
"And at times that you have a shortage of coal miners, sometimes finding sufficient number of mine emergency techs for a production shift is difficult. And if one calls in sick or shows up, they can't operate on that day," he noted.
Despite reservations on the part of several lawmakers, the bill advanced to the full senate.