NEW
ZEALAND
TOPICAL*SONG |
Black
River Mine John Archer, 2010 |
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This
song is fiction, but it parallels events leading up to the explosion
in the Pike River mine on Friday the 19th of November, 2010.
|
The Pike River Mine Disaster
Seventeen-year old Joseph Dunbar was killed at Pike River on his first day at work, as a driller's Offsider.
This song is fiction, but it parallels events leading up to the explosion in the Pike River mine on Friday the 19th of November, 2010. A ventilation fan broke down, allowing methane gas levels to rise to explosive levels, but the company mine manager responsible for safety kept the miners operating their machinery in this dangerous atmosphere.
In the days before the National government abolished safety regulations in mines, a Government Inspector ensured that operating procedures were of a higher standard than at Pike River, and if safety equipment failed, the shift boss of the Miners' Union had the authority to call for a work stoppage and the evacuation of the mine until conditions were safe again.
At the commission of inquiry into the disaster, former chief inspector of coal mines Robin Hughes said that the explosion at Pike River mine had its origins in the repealing of the Coal Mining Act and regulations in 1993.
"The unwillingness of government officials up to and including the Prime Minister of the day to act on advice offered by a number of individuals resulted in the loss of a robust coal mines inspectorate, staffed by the most experienced and skilled personnel available," Mr Hughes said.