China's coal mining still high-risk industry

 BEIJING, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A spokesman for China's work safety regulator said on Friday that coal mining remains¹ a high-risk industry in the country despite improvements over the past decade.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Huang Yi, of the State Administration of Work Safety, said that 35 workers are currently killed in coal mines for every 100 million tonnes of coal output in the country, about 10 times the death rate in the United States.

Small coal mines, accounting² for about 85 percent of the nation's 12,000 mines, are the biggest source of danger due to poor safety provisions. They cause two thirds of the all deaths annually³ in the sector⁴, even though their output makes up only one third of the nation's total, said Huang.

The spokesman said the nation aims to close another 625 small coal mines this year in an attempt to reduce the number of deadly accidents.

In recent years, authorities have been pressing ahead in these efforts by setting timetables for mines to improve safety measures, while ordering them to invest more to beef up facilities. New rules released in April require that dangerous mining enterprises funnel⁵ at least 30 yuan (4.7 U.S.dollars) for each tonne of production back into improving safety.

"We must stay clear-headed all the time and be on alert for coal mine safety," according to Huang.

Government data showed that 1,973 miners were killed in coal mine accidents in 2011, 19 percent fewer than in 2010.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

3 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。