By Steve James and Timothy Gardner

NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Tougher fines for safety violations might force U.S. coal mine operators to do more to prevent accidents, a mining industry expert said on Tuesday.

"Higher fines would make a difference," said Walter Licht, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in labor and mining history.

"Two things will help safety -- new technology with fewer men underground and vigilance on inspection," he said.

His comments came as the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) said it had issued 33 citations this year and 176 since early 2005 against the owners of the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah where six miners have been trapped since Monday.

The government introduced new safety rules, such as mine seals and communications equipment, after the Sago mine explosion that killed 12 men in West Virginia last year, but some critics feel fines for violations are not high enough.

"It's a slap on the wrist, some of the fines are pitiful, $200 or $500," said Licht "They are easily absorbed.

"But I don't necessarily believe there is a disconnect between safety and high productivity," he said of coal producers who say tighter rules will push up their costs.

In March, Massey Energy <MEE.N> was fined $1.5 million, the highest for mine safety violations, after two miners died in a fire at one of its West Virginia mines. By comparison, Massey faces penalties of up to $2.4 billion in a pollution lawsuit brought by the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the industry newsletter Coal & Energy Price Report, the Crandall Canyon mine was near the end of its life, producing 604,000 tons in 2006, down from 1.6 million tons in 2005.

Its longwall, or automated mining process, had been closed and men might have been working on what is called "retreat mining" or "pillar recovery," the newsletter said.

That involves pillars of coal being used to hold up an area of mine roof. When that area is completely mined, the pillars are pulled, causing an intentional collapse.

A bitter dispute has erupted over the cause of the Utah cave-in, with the mine's owner insisting an earthquake was responsible after geologists had said seismic activity detected at the same time was probably caused by the cave-in itself.

Bob Murray, president and chief executive of Murray Energy Corp, part owner of the Crandall Canyon mine, has vehemently denied that retreat-mining was being used at the time of the collapse.

Tony Oppegard, a lawyer in Kentucky who specializes in mine safety litigation, said retreat mining "is the most dangerous type of mining that there is. Quite frankly, the federal law is not strong enough on retreat mining."

"We amended the state law in Kentucky ... this year to require companies that are retreat mining to notify the state within 48 hours before they start retreat mining so state inspectors can come out and make sure the miners understand the retreat mining plan or the pillar plan," said Oppegard.

Although mining is much safer nowadays than 100 years ago, direct comparisons can be deceiving, Licht said.

The main causes of death underground are from explosions and build-up of methane gas, he said.

It was not uncommon to have 200 to 400 deaths per year in Pennsylvania at the turn of the 20th century, when there were about 180,000 miners in the state. Before World War II, there were some 850,000 miners in the United States. It's about 60,000 now.

From 1997 to 2006 an average of 33 U.S. coal miners died per year in accidents, according to the MSHA. So far this year, ten miners have died, while 48 died in 2006, the most in a decade.

Mining is no longer in the top 10 most dangerous occupations. Bureau of Labor statistics show that loggers, fishermen, roofers, aircraft pilots, even truck or taxi drivers, are more likely to be killed on the job than coal miners.

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