By Roger Alford
The Associated Press

PIKEVILLE - The number of miners killed on the job in the United States fell to a historic low of 67 last year, with Kentucky leading the nation with nine coalfield deaths.

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said 2002's total was the lowest since the federal government began keeping records in 1910.

"Clearly, it's a trend that we wanted to see," said Bruce Watzman, vice president for safety and health with the National Mining Association. "It's a trend we hope and pray for on a daily basis."

Of the 67 deaths, 27 occurred in coal mines, down from 42 in 2001, and 40 in cooper, gold, stone and other types of mines, up from 30 in 2001.

West Virginia was second to Kentucky with six mine fatalities. Virginia had five deaths and Pennsylvania three. Alabama, Indiana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming each had one.

Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, said the decrease in deaths came despite an increase in mining activity.

"It's a combination of better training, better equipment, more conscientious oversight by regulatory agencies and more emphasis on safety by companies," he said. "Our goal is to have zero fatalities. ... The mining industry won't be happy until we reach that goal."

Nationally, more than 100 coal miners died in mine accidents each year through the 1970s, but the numbers have declined since then. The previous record low was 72 deaths in 2001.

"We work in difficult conditions," Mr. Watzman said. "It can be a dangerous job, but the bottom line is we're doing better. We want to do better next year than we did this year."

Holly McCoy, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals, said the number of coal mining deaths tend to fluctuate without a major cause.

Most of the deaths were the result of rock falls, electrocution or equipment accidents.

"Some things are just hard to avoid," she said.

Still, Ms. McCoy said, the numbers are promising.

"If you look at the general trend, you can see we're doing much better in the last 10 years than we did the 10 years prior."