Benjamin Slusher, a 25-year-old from Flat Lick, was fatally injured Monday while operating a truck along the haul road at the Cranks Creek Coal Mine.
His death is the second coal worker fatality recorded this year in Kentucky. Another mine worker was killed in Hazard in May, according to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
MSHA and the Kentucky Division of Mine Safety are investigating Slusher’s death. Cranks Creek mine is owned by Nally & Hamilton Enterprises.
Tony Oppegard, a Lexington attorney who represents miners, says less frequent fatalities and injuries in recent years doesn’t necessarily mean mine safety has improved.
“There just aren't as many mines operating, and so accordingly, there's not as many miners working, and therefore there's not as many accidents and fatalities,” he said.
Nationwide, there have been nine coal mine fatalities this year, according to MSHA. Recent years have typically ended with 10 or fewer.
It’s been many years since a single incident has killed five or more miners, the minimum number federal mine safety regulators consider a disaster.
Oppegard says workers usually die one at a time, rather than in large groups.
“There's not usually much publicity about it, and they sort of die quietly,” he said. “And it's a tragedy for their family. It's a disaster for their family that you know can last at least a generation, if not more.”
Coal miners face a number of job-related hazards, including exposure to silica dust. Tuesday, MSHA proposed weakening a Biden-era rule that set limits on silica dust exposure.
The past two decades have seen a resurgence in black lung disease in Central Appalachia.
The public can comment online up to 60 days once the rule is published or attend a virtual hearing Dec. 15 to give MSHA feedback on the proposed rule.
