Soviet mining disaster: casualty of Soviet-era rules
Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 12:03AM
Thomas P.M. Barnett in Citation Post

Mining union official praises all the new gear miners have.  The big problem today, and the one that led to the recent explosions in a coal mine that killed dozens, "is with the management system, not the equipment."

Miners are paid by the tons of coal they pull out, or the output-volume-mania of the Soviet era.  When faced with meeting safety codes versus getting paid more, men pick the latter to their detriment. Example:  in order to meet monthly quotas (another Soviet-era mindset), miners will routinely turn off the methane detectors.

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