Understatement of the day. I've had a worse fine driving!

[Flabbergasted]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-03-02-mine-investigation_x.htm

Senators urge bigger fines for mines

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Democratic senators told the nation's top mine-safety official Thursday that fines against coal mines are too small to prevent deadly safety hazards.

The senators said at a Capitol Hill hearing that the fines, usually a few hundred dollars, aren't hefty enough to make coal companies strictly follow safety regulations. The hearing comes amid concern over a rash of recent deaths in the nation's coal mines, including 12 at the Sago Mine in West Virginia on Jan. 2.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia said the overwhelming number of fines against Sago in 2004 and 2005 were for $60 or $247. "If fines are going to that predictable and that small, it's much easier for the company to pay the fine than fix the problem," Rockefeller said.

[3waygeek]

1. Over at HuffPo,

Cenk Uygur comments on this -- apparently, Janet Jackson's nipple is worth the lives of 10,000 mine workers.

[Bluzmann57]

2. True thing about MSHA.

The fine for smoking in a non smoking area in any mine in America, including coal mines, is $275.00 per smoking item. In other words, if a person is smoking a cigarette and has 9 left in the pack, he or she will be fined $2750.00 plus an additional $275.00 for any lighters one may have. Smoking in a non smoking area is a REAL safety hazard. I am a surface miner and just had an annual MSHA refresher class last week so I know about this. This seems like a large amount, but it is neccessary. Coal mines are way more hazardous than anything I do, and certainly should be subject to larger fines than cigarette smokers who light up illegally.