Is the U.S. becoming Mexico or vise-versa?

Think Progress back in January 2006 from Bloomberg:

Federal authorities issued 21 citations last year for a build-up of combustible materials at the West Virginia mine where 12 men died, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics.

The mining explosion should call attention to the Bush administration’s inadequate enforcement of federal mining safety regulations. Mining safety in the U.S. has improved dramatically since the Mining Safety and Health Act was signed in 1977. By the time that President Clinton signed the International Labor Organization’s Convention 176 concerning safety and health in mines, mining deaths dropped from 425 in 1970 to 85 in 2000.

Phil Smith, the communications director for the United Mine Workers of America, said that while citations have been issued, the fines assessed for safety violations are too small to force large corporations to make improvements. “The problem with the current laws is enforcement.” According to an AFL-CIO analysis, the Bush administration cut 170 positions from federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and has not proposed a single new mine-safety standard or rule during its tenure…

The highest penalty of the more than 200 citations received last year by the Sago mine was $878. But that was the exception. Most of the others were $250 or $60. At that rate, it’s hardly a good business decision to even bother fixing anything. And the administration has shut down any new worker protection standards in OSHA and MSHA.

Mexico City Herald (26 Feb 2007):

NUEVA ROSITA, Coahuila – In the six years leading up to the explosion that killed 65 miners in the Pasta de Conchos coal mine, the federal government found 188 safety violations. It appears as though many of these violations these were never fixed.

According to files from the Labor Secretariat obtained by EL UNIVERSAL, inspectors documented numerous safety violations in the mine, from broken glass in the locker room to faulty lighting and ventilation systems and inadequate equipment for the workers.

The documents also show that federal authorities did not follow through to ensure that Minera México, a subsidiary of mining giant Grupo México, corrected the safety problems.

A year ago, an explosion ripped through the mine, killing 65 miners. The exact cause of the explosion has still not been determined.

Work to recover the bodies has been slow due to lingering pockets of methane gas that prevent the use of power tools. Only two bodies have been recovered.

Inspectors´ visits documented an ever-growing list of problems from 2001 to 2003.

Grupo México has repeatedly denied that any safety violations occurred in the mine.

“Labor officials´ visits generate a great number of observations,” read a statement from Grupo México in response to the report. “However, not all of these observations refer to unfulfilled security regulations, but rather to operation details.”

Grupo México also said it had complied with all of the government´s observations.

However, specialists from the Mexican Bishops´ Council, which is helping the families of the blast victims with legal assistance, say that the Labor Secretariat report provides no evidence that the violations were ever corrected.

A special prosecutor for the case is seeking charges of negligent homicide against 11 officials – six from the Labor Secretariat and five from Grupo México.

No word on any mine owners or Bureau of Mine Safety officials being charged with … anything.