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Chinese Safety Body Orders Mines to Stop Production, Intensify Consolidation

Posted on: Friday, 12 August 2005, 06:00 CDT

Text of report by reporters Wang Yu and Liu Zheng by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Beijing, 11 August: Our reporters have learned from the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) today that the SAWS has issued a circular calling on 7,000-plus coal mines across the country that should stop production and undergo consolidation to intensify consolidation and conscientiously ascertain the principal responsibility for production safety in coal mines.

The circular demands: All coal mines should conscientiously learn their lessons from the 7 August Daxing Coal Mine accident in Xinning City, Guangdong's Meizhou City, comprehensively launched an inspection of all hazards one by one to make sure that they have a clear idea of the hazards that exist in their enterprises, draw up and implement plans for reform and consolidation.

The circular points out: The coalmining safety management departments and supervisory departments at all levels should promptly issue instructions to coal mines that should stop production and undergo consolidation, setting the time limits and stepping up management and supervision. With regard to mines that should stop production and undergo consolidation because they do not meet work safety standards, it is necessary to order them to stop production and undergo consolidation. The deadline for stopping production and undergoing consolidation should be set but it should not be later than the end of this year; those passing the deadline without reaching the safety standards should be resolutely closed down. The circular stresses that the mines that hold out no hope of being consolidated, stop production without undergoing consolidation, or keep on operating in violation of the law, should be closed down.

According to a briefing, between 1 July and 8 August, there were 46 major coal mine accidents across the country, each causing the death of three people or more. Of these, 27 incidents were caused by coal mines that keep on operating after being ordered to close, being outlawed, or being ordered to stop production and undergo consolidation, accounting for about 60 per cent of the total.

Moreover, by 13 July, when the deadline for applying for production safety licenses expired, 5,290 mines across the country were ordered to stop production and undergo consolidation; nearly 2,000 others were not granted production safety licenses after examination and verification. Of the 7,000-plus mines that must stop production and undergo consolidation, a considerable number do not really stop production to undergo consolidation. They either pretend to stop production but actually keep on operating or ostensibly stop production but secretly keep on operating.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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