The newly-upgraded work safety watchdog will get more teeth to curb the growing incidence of fatal accidents.

The State Council has decided to grant more power to the State Administration of Work Safety so that it can conduct inspections and supervise more effectively, especially in coal mines where at least 6,000 were killed last year, Huang Yi, spokesman for the administration, said.

"Giving us more power is a very important step to stop the rising trend of fatal accidents," Huang told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

The administration was last month "promoted" from a deputy-ministry department to cabinet-ministry level.

According to an industry insider, the administration was often ignored in the past by provincial and local governments, which thought it was not powerful enough.

In one such instance, a gas explosion in a mine killed at least 23 workers last week in the coal-rich province of Shanxi. Due to poor safety measures, Xiangyuangou coal mine in Jiaocheng County was ordered to be closed last summer by the inspection authorities, but it continued to operate in defiance of the order.

Dangerous conditions are common in the coal mining sector. Last year, miners dug out 1.95 billion tons to sustain the country's economy, but only 1.2 billion tons were mined with the proper protection measures in place.

Huang said China's State-owned coal mines have a comparatively better safety record than private mines. Despite that, a string of fatal gas explosions at State-owned coal mines in Henan, Shaanxi and Liaoning provinces have killed about 450 miners since last winter. Half of China's 25,000 small private coal mines do not meet safety standards and have failed to invest enough in the safety of their workers.

State Council task forces have been conducting surprise inspections to eliminate hazards at State-owned coal mines in 21 coal-rich provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, said Huang.

R.C. Lao, resident project manager of the Canada-China Project for Cleaner Production said coal mine gas, mainly methane, causes a great number of coal mine explosions and many casualties.

"But on the other hand, it is a valuable and clean fuel," said Lao, suggesting that extracting it can reduce the amount of coal needed and make mine operations much safer.

Premier Wen Jiabao has said the government would spend 3 billion yuan (US$361 million) this year in upgrading safety technologies at State-owned coal mines to "truly make coal mining safer."

A Beijing-based mining safety expert told Xinhua that he believed the funds would mainly be used to deal with the problem of coal-bed gas, as gas explosions are the "top killer" in Chinese coal mines.

Apart from upgrading alarm systems and improving underground ventilation facilities at coal mines, the money might also be spent on research to use coal-bed gas as a new source of energy, said the expert.

Despite such efforts, Huang said the safety situation in China's coal mines is still grave.

He said a severe energy strain caused by China's rapid economic growth has prompted coal mines across the country to over-stretch their capacity. More than 70 per cent of the energy fuelling China's robust economy is from coal. Nearly 90 per cent of China's coal pits are underground and about half of them are rich in gas.

"Poor management, insufficient supervision and ignoring safety requirements are the factors that have led to frequent coal mine accidents," said Huang.

(China Daily March 14, 2005)