Discussion
Centralia No.5
Student: Munkhkhishig Tsevegmed
Strayer University
Modern Public Administration
PAD 500
Dr. Ronald E. Fitzgerald
Friday, January 25, 2013
Centralia No. 5
In terms of logistical alternatives there are a few things mine inspector Driscoll Scanlan could have suggested in order to better inspect the mines. Scanlan could have submitted more detailed reports that could have explained why the mines and working conditions were such a danger. Documentation is not only an effective logistical tool; it also helps promote accountability and addresses all of the issues that need to be resolved. In this particular case the safety of the mines, problems related to it and the mine’s operations and/or incidents all needed to be documented. Documentation could have aided the miners themselves because they would be made aware and would be better informed regarding how to safely do their jobs. The location that the mine was in made mine safety and awareness especially important. Along with Illinois’s abandoned mines come some of the worst underground mine fires in the country (Memmi 2000).
Logistically Scanlan could have suggested a reworking of the mine 's processes. If manpower could not be reduced it could be rearranged in a way that places safety at a priority. This method would have been ahead of its time because alternative methods to mine operations are just now being explored. In their report, the National Mining Association’s Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission (2006) reported on the importance of behavior research in mine emergency response and the need for continued efforts in this area. Scanlan was very involved with the Centralia Mine #5, he submitted quarterly reports regarding the mine’s safety. Though he was not getting the proper reaction from the Department of Mines & Minerals to whom he was submitting his reports, Scanlan could have used his knowledge and expertise to mitigate the damage that could be done as a result of a
Student: Munkhkhishig Tsevegmed
Strayer University
Modern Public Administration
PAD 500
Dr. Ronald E. Fitzgerald
Friday, January 25, 2013
Centralia No. 5
In terms of logistical alternatives there are a few things mine inspector Driscoll Scanlan could have suggested in order to better inspect the mines. Scanlan could have submitted more detailed reports that could have explained why the mines and working conditions were such a danger. Documentation is not only an effective logistical tool; it also helps promote accountability and addresses all of the issues that need to be resolved. In this particular case the safety of the mines, problems related to it and the mine’s operations and/or incidents all needed to be documented. Documentation could have aided the miners themselves because they would be made aware and would be better informed regarding how to safely do their jobs. The location that the mine was in made mine safety and awareness especially important. Along with Illinois’s abandoned mines come some of the worst underground mine fires in the country (Memmi 2000).
Logistically Scanlan could have suggested a reworking of the mine 's processes. If manpower could not be reduced it could be rearranged in a way that places safety at a priority. This method would have been ahead of its time because alternative methods to mine operations are just now being explored. In their report, the National Mining Association’s Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission (2006) reported on the importance of behavior research in mine emergency response and the need for continued efforts in this area. Scanlan was very involved with the Centralia Mine #5, he submitted quarterly reports regarding the mine’s safety. Though he was not getting the proper reaction from the Department of Mines & Minerals to whom he was submitting his reports, Scanlan could have used his knowledge and expertise to mitigate the damage that could be done as a result of a
References: Aldrich, M. (1995). Preventing ‘the Needless Peril of the Coal Mine’: The Bureau of Mines and the Campaign Against Coal Mine Explosions, 1910–1940. Technology and Culture, Society for the History of Technology, pp. 483–518. Brnich, Michael J. & Kathleen M. Kowalski-Trakofker. (No Year). Underground Mine Disasters 1900-2010: Events, Responses, and a Look to the Future. Memmi, John. (2000). Cooking Centralia: A recipe for disaster. GeoTimes, (Sept. 2000). Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission 2006. Improving Mine Safety Technology and Training: Establishing U.S. global leadership. National Mining Association, Dec. 2006, 193 pp. http://www.coalminingsafety.org/documents/msttc_report.pdf.