Again sabotage

The cause of the accident at the Ulyanovskaya mine was interference in the safety system

The cause of the explosion at the Yubileiny mine in Kemerovo , where 39 people died on May 24, was deliberate interference with the operation of methane control systems. These are the preliminary conclusions of the commission’s work, which were announced yesterday by the head of Rostechnadzor, Konstantin Pulikovsky, during the government hour in the State Duma. A blocked control system led to the gas concentration reaching dangerous levels, and an accidental spark caused the tragedy.

Exactly according to the same scenario, as previously established, events developed at the Ulyanovskaya mine, where 110 people died as a result of interference with the automatic control system in March. In both cases, this was done with the knowledge of the mine management to increase coal production. And although the experts’ conclusion will be officially announced only on June 8 in Novokuznetsk, the head of Rostekhnadzor yesterday suggested that deputies introduce criminal liability for violating labor safety rules. There, in Novokuznetsk, the decision on the fate of the license of the Yuzhkuzbassugol company, which owns both mines, will apparently be announced. After these accidents, Rostechnadzor stated that the agency’s lawyers were preparing a package of documents for the court to begin the procedure for revoking licenses and were only waiting for the results of the investigation into what happened at Yubileiny.

Mr. Pulikovsky called the commission’s announced conclusions preliminary, since the official results of the investigation will be announced in Novokuznetsk only on June 8. Nevertheless, according to him, we can already talk about the system of violations that have developed at the Yuzhkuzbassugol mines.

According to the head of Rostekhnadzor, the cause of recent accidents at Russian mines was the pursuit of profit. Business owners are reluctant to degas mines to reduce methane levels and do not want to spend money on this expensive procedure. In this case, coal mining has to be suspended, and accordingly the enterprise incurs losses. In order to convince mine owners not to skimp on safety, Mr. Pulikovsky proposed that deputies introduce criminal and administrative liability for violation of labor safety rules not only for managers, but also for the owners of coal enterprises. In addition, in his opinion, it is worth returning to Rostechnadzor inspectors the authority to suspend the work of hazardous enterprises in case of violation of labor safety regulations. According to him, inspectors should have the right to seal the equipment of such enterprises. Now the inspector can take such measures only by court decision. In the case of Yubileinaya, inspectors tried three times to suspend work at emergency sites, but the court did not accept their arguments.

Eduard LOMOVTSEV