“Workplace examinations for hazards — pre-shift and on-shift every shift — can identify and eliminate hazards that kill miners,” Main said. Effective and appropriate training will help ensure that miners know and understand these hazards and learn how to control or eliminate them.

“Fatalities are not an inevitable consequence of mining,” Main added. “We must all work together to send miners home safe and healthy after every shift.”

ARTBA cautions EPA against regulating coal ash as ‘hazardous waste’

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to regulate coal ash as a “hazardous waste” could make concrete more expensive and less durable, thus increasing the costs and environmental footprint of key transportation improvement projects, says Nick Goldstein, vice president of environmental and regulatory affairs for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

“Every element of the transportation construction process, from the suppliers of concrete to the contractors who handle construction materials would be affected by the stigma of a ‘hazardous waste’ label for coal ash,” Goldstein said at an Aug. 30 EPA hearing. “Specifically, because of the increased expense of handling a ‘hazardous waste,’ the producers of coal ash would be resistant to continue providing it to concrete manufacturers.”

The transportation sector’s use of coal ash has been an environmental success story, Goldstein says. “According to EPA’s own data, coal ash accounts for between 15 and 30 percent of the cement in concrete. Further, EPA has noted using coal ash at this level results in annual greenhouse gas reductions in concrete production of between 12.5 and 25 tons and an annual reduction in oil consumption between 26.8 and 53.6 million barrels.”

In 2008 alone, more than 12.5 million tons of coal ash was used in the production of concrete. Goldstein noted a variety of transportation projects, including the following: 

• Colorado, where the use of coal ash in 2008 reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 19,500 tons;

• Indiana, where the state department of transportation is able to use an average of 42 percent  of the coal ash generated on recycled construction material;