Print Email Facebook Twitter Uncovering coal mining accident coverups Title Uncovering coal mining accident coverups: An alternative perspective on China's new safety narrative Author Yang, X. (TU Delft Organisation & Governance; Xiamen University) Krul, K. (TU Delft Organisation & Governance) Sims, David (Cranfield University) Date 2022 Abstract China has taken on a series of comprehensive institutional measures to improve the safety of its coal mining industry and workers. Official figures indicate similar reductions to both accidents and fatalities, from which a “new safety narrative” has emerged in official discourses. However, this view neglects the fact that many accidents are concealed or underreported in China's mining sector. This study critically examines China's safety measures with a novel dataset of 180 mining accident coverup cases derived from official, judicial, and media sources. The study's findings support three observations: (i) despite the imposition of stricter regulations and the closure of many informal and small-scale mines, accident coverups have continued at both legal and large-scale mines; (ii) despite increased monitoring including the implementation of a fatality indicator system, accident reporting is consistently manipulated by mine owners, local authorities, and even victims’ families; and (iii) although new stiffer penalties specifically sanction accident coverups, they are rarely imposed. Our results cast doubt on the conceived success of China's new safety narrative and demonstrate how industrial safety measures are deliberately and structurally compromised. Subject Accident coverupChinaCoal miningSafety measuresUnderreporting To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:f483d1ea-3603-4e4f-ae76-b2cc34ba3b89 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105637 Embargo date 2023-07-01 ISSN 0925-7535 Source Safety Science, 148 Bibliographical note Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public. Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2022 X. Yang, K. Krul, David Sims Files PDF 1_s2.0_S092575352100477X_main.pdf 2.91 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:f483d1ea-3603-4e4f-ae76-b2cc34ba3b89/datastream/OBJ/view