1. Editor's Note
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Editor's Note
CHINESE COALMINES: WORKPLACES OR TOMBS?
China is the largest provider of coal in the world, but the grim record in its 28,000 coalmines - many of them located in rural areas - has regularly hit newspaper headlines around the world and aroused both sympathy and outrage among those concerned about workers' health and safety in China. In this issue, we include reports on the deadly coalmine explosions in Daping Coalmine on 20 October and Chenjiashan Coalmine on 28 November – the most serious ones so far in the year – and other reported mine accidents in October and November alone. We also examine the reasons why China’s mines are plagued with accidents claiming thousands of miners' lives every year.
1) Several Hundred Bereaved Families of 166 Miners Killed in Shaanxi Coal Mine Explosion Protest False Death Toll and News Blockade
2) 148 Dead in Daping Coalmine Blast, Henan Province
3) More and More Accidents: 33 Dead in Xinsheng Coalmine in Henan; 68 dead in Shahe Iron Mine in Hebei
4) Safety Standards in Chinese Mines? What are the International Standards?
5) Table: Other Coalmine Accidents in China in October and November 2004
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1) Several Hundred Bereaved Families of 166 Miners Killed in Shaanxi Coal Mine Explosion Protest False Death Toll and News Blockade
Several hundred angry and distraught family members of the 166 miners killed in a gas explosion in Chenjiashan Coalmine in Tungchuan City, Shaanxi Province on 28 November, stormed the mine and local government offices, accusing mining officials of failing to tell them the genuine death toll and of stopping journalists from reporting the accident.
Sources told China Labour Bulletin that when the government announced that there was no hope of finding the missing miners, hundreds of their relatives went to protest at the mine and the nearby Chaowan Town government office. An eye-witness told CLB that stones were thrown, smashing some windows.
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2) 148 Dead in Daping Coalmine Blast, Henan Province
The explosion on 20 October in Daping Coalmine in Xinmi City in central China’s Henan Province was one of the largest such accidents in China in recent years. Chinese mines are notorious for their poor safety standards and even though the accidents have been widely reported by the official mainland press, there is little evidence that authorities and mine owners are taking steps to improve underground working conditions.
The Daping Coalmine disaster claimed 148 lives, following nearly a month’s search by rescue workers. 298 others managed to escape from the mine on the night of 20 October when the accident occurred.
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3) More and More Accidents: 33 Dead in Xinsheng Coalmine in Henan; 68 dead in Shahe Iron Mine in Hebei
Large scale deadly mine accidents have been hitting the provinces of Henan and Hebei in central China since October, claiming more than 250 miners’ lives in total – with the Daping coalmine’s death toll the worst recorded this year. Henan and Hebei provinces together produce about ten per cent of China’s coal each year, according to figures from China Coal Industry Network.
According to information from the State Administration of Work Safety, a gas explosion occurred at Xinsheng Coalmine in Liangwa Town, Henan Province, at midday on 11 November, killing 33 miners and leaving six others injured.
As the mine owner fled after the accident, it was difficult to find out how many workers had been underground when the accident occurred. The record of mining facilities and ground plan of the pit also went missing. A doctor from Liangwa Town Hospital told China Labour Bulletin that the injured miners had been sent to the county hospital suffering 40 to 90 percent burns.
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4) Safety Standards in Chinese Mines? What are the International Standards?
The safety standards for China’s coalmines are clearly set forth in a set of regulations formulated by the State Administration of Work Safety a few years ago. However, mine owners and officials often simply ignore these regulations.
In 2003, according to the government, China’s accident-plagued coalmines accounted for 80 percent of the world’s coal mining deaths while producing 35 percent of its coal.
A nation-wide safety campaign is said to have reduced the casualty rate this year, but coalmine accidents have still caused 5,286 deaths from January to November this year, according to figures from the State Administration of Work Safety. In 2003, it said coalmine accidents killed 6,702 people. But in June 2004, China Labour Bulletin was unofficially told by a Chinese government source in Europe that the real figure could be "at least 20,000 a year," since many deaths are covered up or not recorded.
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5) Table: Other Coalmine Accidents in China in October and November 2004
Coalmine accidents occur frequently in China every month. Some accidents are reported in the official mainland media, but there is always the question of how many mining accidents are left undisclosed due to the deliberate covering up of wrongdoing or possible corruption involving local government officials. Below, we have compiled a list of reported coalmine accidents in China in October and November 2004. The table gives a clear enough idea of the appalling extent of the problem.