Unsafe coal mines to be closed to curb accidents
( 2003-09-19 09:41) (Xinhua)
The Chinese government will take tough measures, including the shutdown of
unsafe coal mines, to prevent serious coal mine accidents, a senior production
safety supervisor said Thursday.
Zhao Tiechui, vice-director of the State Administration of Production Safety,
said at a national telephone conference on coalmine safety that China has still
not brought serious coal mine accidents under control.
According to statistics released at the conference, six seriouscoal mine
accidents each claiming more than 30 lives occurred in China from the beginning
of this year to Sept. 17. The death toll in this period reached 309, up 25
percent from the same period of last year.
Zhao attributed the worsening situation to reckless acceleration in coal
production caused by brisk sales and rising coal prices.
"Some previously closed illegal mines have resumed production, while
state-owned coal mines have accelerated production in excessof their production
safety standards," said Zhao.
He said five categories of coal mines will suspend production for a safety
overhaul or simply be closed, including small mines lacking the minimum
production safety facilities, state-owned mines with potential safety risks and
state-owned coal mines that had experienced accidents claiming more than three
lives since July.
The official criticized certain regions for failing to balance regional
economic growth with production safety issues and allowing unsafe coal mines to
continue production.
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