September 2, 2024 - The nation’s chief of mine safety says he can’t help but think about West Virginians on Labor Day.

U.S. Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety Health & Training (MSHA) Chris Williamson said coal miners nationwide are safer today because of Mountain State miners.

“All of the protections that are in place for miners today, West Virginia coal miners played a huge role in that,” Williamson recently told MetroNews. “They have fought for all of these advancements in miner safety and health.”

Williamson, a West Virginia native who came from a coal mining family, said West Virginia miners and the state’s congressional delegation fought hard to pass the 1977 Mine Safety & Health Act that created MSHA. He said his job is to make sure those jobs are safe and healthy.

“We have a responsibility to make sure that we’re using all of those protections and using all those authorities and using our resources to make sure we are protecting the nation’s miners both in safety and in health.”

The Farmington No. 9 mine explosion in November 1968 that killed 78 miners in Marion County produced the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act in 1969. The act required the regular inspections of coal miners and created fines for violations.

Williamson said one way to keep miners safe is through the new silica dust rule that went into effect earlier this year, compliance for coal operators is next April.

“There are mine operators that are trying to get ready for the rules, doing evaluations, putting into place new engineering controls and we should commend them for that but at the end of the day we have to do better,” Williamson said.

MSHA continues to host silica stakeholder meeting. There’s one scheduled for Sept. 12 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Williamson said West Virginia coal miners can be proud on this Labor Day.

“Those jobs have sustained families and provided for families for generations and that’s incredibly important. It’s been part of the state’s history,” he said