RE: Usually not worth it

True, a policy in some binder that everyone forgets about is useless. What I heard happened was that someone in the emergency command center heard what they wanted to hear or got carried away with a rumor and leaked it out. It could've been a rescue worker. I'm not sure, and the smoke (literally and metaphorically speaking) hasn't cleared yet to narrow it down where the rumor originated.

The company should care though because they nearly had a full fledged riot on their hands. The families and other employees, not to mention investors, lost a lot of confidence in the company as a result. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a lawsuit floats up like a turd from this.

I don't think banning employee cell phones would work at all, but having some regular training for the employees who will act as the rescue team if something like this happens again, which it will in coal mining.

I guess I was hoping this item would spark some freedom of speech debate and we could collaboratively come up with some solutions for this and other industries. You bring up a lot of good points, like any time spent on training costs the company money, which I hadn't considered seriously.

Here's another point to consider. Contrast how this case was handled vs. the first chemical spill in China. Can't find the exact URL right now, but the Chinese government wasn't too happy, nor were the people in that city because the government never warned the city until LONG after private citizens with cell phones spread the word. Then the government came out and said "Oh, by the way..." after the word had leaked out. Interestingly, not long after that China began requiring registration with the government to own a cell phone. Clearly that won't float here.

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