Digging for Clues After Sago

By DOUGLAS WALLER

As Congress geared up for this week's hearings on the Sago mine accident, which killed 12 coalworkers earlier this month, disaster struck another West Virginia mine. A fire at Alma No. 1 last week left two people dead--and put new pressure on the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), which regulates mining operations. House Democrats are asking whether MSHA oversight has been not only weaker but also more secretive under the Bush Administration. Sago was cited for 208 alleged safety violations in 2005, Alma No. 1 for 95. In the past, the MSHA made its inspectors' full notes public, but since 2004, it has released only briefer citations. Critics say the inspectors' notes provide more information on conditions in dangerous mines. Representative Henry Waxman, top Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, has sent a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao--whose department oversees the MSHA--arguing that if the inspector notes for the Sago citations had been disclosed, "it is possible that lifesaving reforms could have been identified and put in place." Waxman tells TIME, "The Administration's obsession with secrecy is literally endangering lives." Mine-inspection officials dispute such allegations, insisting enough information on safety infractions is made public. An MSHA official explained that the policy change made procedures "consistent with [those of] other enforcement agencies."