[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17071]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      RESCUE OF MINEWORKERS BY FMC

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr President, I know all of us in this Chamber shared in 
the profound sense of relief and elation which accompanied the heroic 
rescue of nine mineworkers from the Quecreek Mine near Somerset 
Pennsylvania earlier this summer. It was truly a remarkable story which 
combined the very best of the human spirit with the most modern mine 
safety and rescue technologies and produced nothing short of a miracle.
  Somewhat lost in the press accounts after the rescue was the role 
played by the Mine Safety and Health Administration which sent 70 of 
its own employees to Somerset to assist in the rescue. One of MSHA's 
important missions is to prepare mineworkers and local health and 
safety officials for responding to the sort of near disaster that we 
witnessed last month. The rescue in Pennsylvania was no accident. It 
was the result of thousands of man-hours dedicated to salvaging the 
best from the worst. We all saw firsthand how it works.
  I am very proud to be able today to recognize that a group of 
individuals from my own state has won this year's National and 
International Mine Rescue Contest. The Mine rescue competitions are 
designed to test the knowledge of miners who might be called upon to 
respond to a real mine emergency. The contest requires six-member teams 
to solve a hypothetical mine emergency problem--such as a fire, 
explosion or cave in--while judges rate them on their adherence to mine 
rescue procedures and how quickly they complete specific tasks.
  This year a team from Green River Wyoming, representing FMC 
Corporation, which operates a mine in my state, won this prestigious 
competition. I would like to recognize the individuals who are part of 
this number 1 team: Bob Knott, Alan Jones, Rick Owens, Leroy 
Hutchinson, Glen Weinmaster, Dave Thomas, Melvin Lovato, Robert Pope, 
Bill Oleson, Bob Robison, Tony Herrera, John Key, Rod Knight, Mike 
Padilla and David Hutchinson.
  We pray that this outstanding team will never have to put into 
practice what it has trained to do over countless hours. However, it is 
also encouraging to know that such teams are deployed throughout mining 
country and stand ready to perform the sorts of heroic feats that we 
all witnessed a few weeks ago in Pennsylvania and coal country.
  All of us in Wyoming are very proud of the accomplishments of the FMC 
Mine Rescue Team and salute all of those involved in the mining 
industry for their dedication to safety.

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