Labor Secretary tours an underground coal mine in W. Va.
Starting with a 30-minute mantrip ride to deep under the ground, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta got a close-up look at a West Virginia coal mine recently – an experience Acosta said gave him an appreciation for the men and women who work in the nation’s 13,000 mines.
Acosta, along with U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), got to watch a continuous mining machine in action. The device, which employs a large rotating steel drum equipped with bits to extract coal from the seam, was equipped with a proximity detection system which can detect the presence of personnel or equipment and avert pinning or crushing accidents.