James Wright knew well the hazards accompanying his job, but for $20 an hour ? top dollar in Appalachia ? it was a risk worth taking.

The 24-year-old donned a hard hat and cap light and descended into a coal mine, where roofs can collapse, equipment can malfunction, a spark can cause catastrophe and men can make fatal mistakes.

The championship highschool football player and avid fisherman was the most recent miner ? the fifth during the past decade ? to die in Ohio?s underground coal mines.

He was killed in a Tuscarawas County mine on June 10 when he was struck and crushed by a coal-shuttle car operated by one of his best friends.

"It was just a horrible accident," said his father, Clarence Wright, of Lisbon. "It was his choice. He knew the danger. But it?s still hard to take."

Coal mining has a well-earned reputation as a historically dangerous way to earn a living, but safety improvements and constant inspections ? and perhaps some luck ? have dulled its deadly edge in Ohio.

Federal records show the Sago Mine, where a dozen died in West Virginia after an explosion Jan. 2, had a checkered safety record.

None of Ohio?s 10 underground coal mines are as troubled as Sago, but they are not without some problems.

Ohio?s two largest mines recorded injury rates about onefourth higher than the national average last year while being cited for serious violations by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The mines are owned by Ohio?s coal king, Robert E. Murray, a resident of the Cleveland suburb of Moreland Hills and mining engineering graduate of Ohio State University.

Murray Energy owns the American Energy Corp.?s Century Mine in Monroe County. A mile away, the company?s Ohio Valley Coal Co. Powhatan No. 6 Mine in Belmont County reaches 700 feet deep and stretches for miles.

The Century Mine ranked 11 th (5.8 million tons) and the Powhatan Mine 19 th (4.3 million tons) in the United States in the amount of underground coal extracted in 2004.

Powhatan has the spottier record between Murray?s two mines.

Federal inspectors cited Ohio Valley Coal last year for 494 safety violations and the company paid $147,431 in fines ? nearly triple the combined amount of fines levied against Ohio?s nine other underground coal mines.

More than 100 of the violations ? for failing to test for explosive methane gas, accumulations of dangerous coal dust, ventilation problems, unsupported roofs, unsafe equipment and others ? were "significant and substantial."

To federal mine inspectors, "significant and substantial" means there?s a reasonable chance the hazard could harm miners.

Inspectors also issued 13 orders instructing miners to clear areas where an "imminent danger" was detected.

On Dec. 7, the mine was evacuated when a fire consumed 2,400 feet of a conveyor belt. No one was hurt.

Powhatan?s record last year was an improvement from years past. In 2002, the mine attracted 620 safety-violation citations and $277,006 in fines.

"Conditions at that mine are a concern," said Tim Baker, who toured Powhatan six months ago as deputy administrator of occupational safety and health with the United Mine Workers of America.

The Century Mine near Beallsville attracted 157 safety violations, $18,452 in fines and no withdrawal orders in 2004.

On paper, it would appear the nonunionized Century Mine is safer, but that?s misleading, said Dennis O?Dell, the UMW?s safety and health administrator.

Federal mine inspectors are not as aggressive in citing nonunion mines for violations, O?Dell said. At Powhatan, union safety-committee members can press inspectors to address violations while the union contract protects them from retaliation. Nonunion miners have no such protection and balk at raising safety concerns, he said.

Murray and officials of his coal companies declined to be interviewed. He issued a statement saying that his mines have outstanding safety records. The two companies? 725 miners pull out three-fourths of Ohio?s underground coal.

U.S. Department of Labor officials declined requests for interviews with Ohio mine-inspection officials, saying they were too busy.

Jerry Stewart, mine-safety manager for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources? Division of Mineral Resources Management, said coal mining has changed dramatically from the old days, when dozens died each year.

A methane-gas explosion in a Sunday Creek Coal Co. mine near Millfield in Athens County killed 82 miners on Nov. 5, 1930, in Ohio?s worst mine disaster.

Stewart credits Ohio?s underground-mine operators and their 1,060 miners for generally addressing problems before they create a danger.

"Everybody is constantly, every day, correcting hazards as an integrated part of each job. There are a lot of hazards there and a lot of efforts go into taking care of them, but there still remains a danger," he said.

State and federal inspectors regularly visit both surface and underground coal mines with a goal of keeping miners safe, Stewart said.

Surface-mining operations for sand, gravel and limestone have proven more dangerous than underground coal mines since 2000, with seven workers killed aboveground, he said.

The state maintains a coalmine rescue network of seven teams of seven employees from various coal mines. Their breathing and firefighting equipment is stored at stations in New Philadelphia, Shadyside and Glouster.

Thankfully, Stewart said, there has been no need in recent years to call out the rescue teams.

rludlow@dispatch.com?