|
|
|
On
December 5, 2007, an explosion occurred at the coal mine owned
by Rui Zhiyuan Company (RZC) in China. It was yet another deadly
coal mining explosion in China reported that year. The earlier
explosions had occurred at Yujialing Coal Mine killing 26
workers in March 20071
and Pudeng Coal Mine where 28 mine workers had died in May 2007.
In addition to this, there were an estimated 180 human
casualties when floodwater engulfed a mine in the country's
Huayuan Coal Mine in Shandong province in August 2007.
|
Official estimates suggested that at least 105 people
might have died immediately in the gas explosion at RZC. The exact
number of deaths remained a mystery. Coal mining has been the most
unsafe occupation in China, reporting highest number of accidents.
Thousands of mine workers have lost their lives in coal mines in the
last few decades. It was estimated that in 2006, 13 deaths occurred in
Chinese coal mines each day.
Though official figures put the death toll in Chinese mines at 3,069
between January 2007 and October 2007, critics contended that the figure
was as high as 20,000 per annum, considering that many of the accidents
went unreported and often workers succumbed to diseases such as asthma,
lung cancer and tuberculosis as a result of working under hazardous
conditions.2
The major reason cited for hazardous conditions in coal mines was the
negligent attitude of mine owners who allegedly did not pay enough
attention to workplace safety.
It was alleged that the mine owners often put the lives of the workers
at risk by not investing in fire control and other equipment, proper
ventilation, etc. In addition, mine owners in China often breached
safety regulations to increase production beyond the permissible level.
Coal is a major resource worldwide as it accounts for 70 percent of the
global mining output.3 The sector
employs 50 percent of the workforce engaged in mining activities.
However a disproportionate number of accidents occur in this sector.
Around 71 percent of fatalities were reported to occur in coal mines. In
the period between 1900 and 2004, the world coal production went up from
around 900 million tones to around 5,800 million tones. By 2030, the
worldwide demand for coal was expected to rise to 3.7 billion tones from
2.4 billion tones in 2002.
China relies heavily on coal due to scarcity in petroleum resources.
About two-thirds of the country's electricity is generated by burning
coal, making China the largest consumer and producer of coal in the
world.
In addition to electricity generation, China depends on coal for
running its factories which comprise China's huge manufacturing base.
Further, China has plans to build more than 500 coal-fired power plants
by 2015 to meet its increasing energy demand. The importance of this
sector notwithstanding, workers employed in coal mines continue to work
under abysmal conditions.
|
1] Xiao Qiang, "Coal Mine Explosion Kills 26 in
North China," www.chinadigitaltimes.net, March 29, 2007.
2] Carol Divjak, "China's latest Coal Mine Explosion
Kills at Least 105," www.worldproutassembly.org, December 11, 2007.
3] Klaus Brendow, "World and Central European Coal
Demand Perspectives to 2030," www.worldenergy.org, September 2006. |
