{"id":545704,"date":"2010-04-28T06:00:25","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T10:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/?p=83308"},"modified":"2010-04-28T06:00:25","modified_gmt":"2010-04-28T10:00:25","slug":"plenty-of-blame-still-to-go-around-in-massey-mining-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/545704","title":{"rendered":"Plenty of Blame Still to Go Around in Massey Mining Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_83309\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 489px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/obama-memorial.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-83309\" title=\"Upper Big Branch memorial\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/obama-memorial-479x321.jpg\" alt=\"Upper Big Branch memorial\" width=\"479\" height=\"321\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Obama speaks at a memorial service on Sunday for miners who died in the Upper Big Branch explosion. (EPA\/ZUMApress.com)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Recently released inspector notes charging Upper Big Branch operators  with &#8220;negligence&#8221; on safety issues offer further evidence that the mine  owner, while chiefly responsible for conditions inside the mine, wasn&#8217;t  solely to blame for this month&#8217;s deadly blast, according to a number of  mine safety experts. Federal regulators, they charge, also dropped the  ball by failing to close the mine despite its troubled history of safety  violations.<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_3032\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 145px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3032\" title=\"environment\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/environment.jpg\" alt=\"Image by: Matt Mahurin\" width=\"130\" height=\"130\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by: Matt Mahurin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"floatButtons\">\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/digg.com\/tools\/diggthis.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"\n\tsrc=\"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/ds\/badge2.js\"\n\tbadgetype=\"square\">\n\t<?php the_permalink(); ?><\/script><\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\">\n\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\ntweetmeme_source = \"TWI_news\";\ntweetmeme_service = \"bit.ly\";\n<\/script> <script src=\"http:\/\/tweetmeme.com\/i\/scripts\/button.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"float: left;\"><a name=\"fb_share\" type=\"box_count\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php\">Share<\/a><script src=\"http:\/\/static.ak.fbcdn.net\/connect.php\/js\/FB.Share\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;This is a case not only  of the operator thumbing his nose at the strictly legal requirements and  regulations,&#8221; Ken Hechler, former West Virginia congressman who was  lead sponsor of a 1969 law that overhauled mining safety, said this week  in a phone interview. &#8220;It also involves a failure of the Mine Safety  and Health Administration itself to act aggressively against the mine in  order to ensure that either the conditions be made safe, as provided in  the law, or to toughen the enforcement &#8230; to close the mine.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Virginia-based  Massey Energy, which owns the Upper Big Branch, &#8220;has a long history of  having used every possible loophole to avoid the piling up of fines,&#8221;  Hechler added, &#8220;which, of course, should have given the authority &#8212;  which is clearly contained in the law &#8212; for [MSHA] to have closed that  mine.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A former MSHA manager echoed that sentiment this  month, telling TWI that MSHA leaders &#8212; notably Joe Main, who heads the  agency &#8212; haven&#8217;t done nearly enough to confront coal companies that  show patterns of safety violations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[MSHA] was  soft-pedaling &#8212; staying in the background, keeping a low profile,\u201d the  former official said. \u201cAnd you can\u2019t do that with this industry. You\u2019ve  got to use a big stick &#8212; especially with Massey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The  comments arrive a few days after MSHA released inspectors notes  charging operators at Upper Big Branch with \u201chigh negligence\u201d and \u201ca  reckless disregard of care to the miners\u201d just weeks before an explosion  there killed 29 miners.<\/p>\n<p>The handwritten notes, which  provide further details surrounding the long-list of safety violations  racked up at UBB this year, fly directly in the face of recent claims by  Massey that safety is the top priority of its operations. Although  these specific problems were eventually fixed, the notes could still  lend clues as teams of inspectors begin investigating the cause of the  blast &#8212; and Congress probes charges that Massey&#8217;s corporate culture  prioritized profits above worker safety.<\/p>\n<p>The  inspectors&#8217; notes tell a remarkable tale. One official with the Mine  Safety and Health Administration visiting the Upper Big Branch on  January 7, for example, found that a ventilation system &#8212; designed to  flush toxic gases with fresh air pulled from outside &#8212; was pushing air  in the wrong direction. &#8220;In case of an emergency,&#8221; the inspector wrote,  &#8220;the men on this section would not have fresh air in primary escapeway.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore,  the mine foreman knew about the problem, the inspector noted, but when  he informed higher-ups, &#8220;He was told not to worry about it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The  vent problem, which had existed for at least three weeks prior to the  inspector&#8217;s visit, &#8220;will result in fatal injuries from smoke inhalation  and inhalation of harmful gases in emergency situations,&#8221; the inspector  wrote, adding that such an incident is &#8220;reasonably likely to occur&#8221; in  Upper Big Branch because &#8220;this mine liberates methane.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In  short, &#8220;the operator has shown a reckless disregard of care to the  miners on this section and [the] men that use this escapeway,&#8221; the  inspector wrote. Among those who knew of the problem, the inspector  added, were Chris Blanchard and Jamie Ferguson, president and vice  president, respectively, of the Performance Coal Company, a Massey  subsidiary that operates the Upper Big Branch project.<\/p>\n<p>That  wasn&#8217;t the only instance. The same inspector, visiting another part of  the Upper Big Branch on the same day, found that another vent system was  pushing the toxic return air into another escapeway. The superintendent  on duty knew of the problem, the inspector noted, but didn&#8217;t fix it  until the inspector made a fuss.<\/p>\n<p>An accident, the  inspector wrote &#8212; a reasonably likely event because of the gassy nature  of the mine &#8212; &#8220;will result in fatal injuries.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I  believe [the] operator has show high negligence [pursuant] to fact of  management knowing where problem is and fixing immediately,&#8221; the  inspector wrote.<\/p>\n<p>There are other examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>On  January 11, an inspector cited UBB for a misaligned belt that was  rubbing another structure to the point that smoke was seen coming off  the belt. A resulting accident, in that gassy mine, was deemed &#8220;highly  likely,&#8221; the inspector wrote. The condition had existed for &#8220;at least  two months.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>On January 20,  an inspector cited a cut in an electrical cable that wasn&#8217;t sufficiently  sealed. Because the area was wet, workers were at risk of fatal  electrocution, the inspector said, adding that such an episode was  &#8220;reasonable likely if normal mining were to continue.&#8221; The section  electrician, the inspector wrote, knew of the problem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The  notes also indicate a certain disdain among Massey managers for the  MSHA officials. One company supervisor, an inspector noted on January 7,  &#8220;feels as though MSHA personnel come here expecting the worst and not  giving them enough benefit of the doubt. I explained to him that I would  be writing what I saw.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Appearing at a Senate mine-safety hearing  Tuesday, Jeff Harris, a former Massey miner, gave a damning account of  conditions in the company&#8217;s mines &#8212; testimony that was strikingly  similar to <a id=\"hjsk\" title=\"accounts given by other former Massey employees\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/82833\/former-miner-details-dangers-of-massey-mines\">accounts  given by other former Massey employees<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When  we got to a section to mine coal, they\u2019d tear down the ventilation  curtain,&#8221; Harris told lawmakers. &#8220;The air was so thick you could hardly  see in front of you. When an MSHA inspector came to the section, we\u2019d  hang the curtain, but as soon as the inspector left, the curtain came  down again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Massey, for its part, has denied  the claims that it doesn&#8217;t take the safety of its workers seriously &#8212; a  position the company was defending as recently as this week. &#8220;Our  corporate culture today stresses three priorities: safety, ethics and  excellence,&#8221; reads <a id=\"dfm9\" title=\"a letter\" href=\"http:\/\/wvgazette.com\/static\/coal%20tattoo\/masseytowhomletter.pdf\">a letter<\/a> given to reporters Monday.  &#8220;Massey Energy&#8217;s members are among the best trained, most productive and  safest miners in the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The company&#8217;s website <a id=\"go.q\" title=\"reiterates those vows\" href=\"http:\/\/webcache.googleusercontent.com\/search?q=cache:wWCZCEiOEtIJ:www.masseyenergyco.com\/company\/success.shtml+massey+s-1+p-2&amp;cd=1&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us&amp;client=safari\">reiterates that message<\/a>,  claiming that its &#8220;formula for success&#8221; is based on an &#8220;S-1, P-2&#8243; model:  safety first, production second. It&#8217;s a formula that some former  employees are quick to dispute.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s bullshit,&#8221;  Chuck Nelson, a former Massey miner who\u2019s since become an environmental  activist with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, said of Massey&#8217;s  safety-first claims. &#8220;You do what you&#8217;re told.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bolstering  the critics&#8217; claims, MSHA officials <a id=\"dd58\" title=\"announced\" href=\"http:\/\/www.msha.gov\/MEDIA\/PRESS\/2010\/NR100427.asp\">announced<\/a> Tuesday that sections of three other  Massey mines were shut down in recent weeks after the agency received  anonymous complaints about safety concerns there. One of those  withdrawals came after the Upper Big Branch explosion.<\/p>\n<p>With  Massey <a id=\"mlm2\" title=\"seemingly back to business as usual\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/82941\/in-coal-county-a-culture-of-fear\">seemingly back to  business as usual<\/a>, Hechler said, Congress will have to play a role  if policymakers hope to prevent the next mining disaster.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Obviously,  the chief burden should be on the company,&#8221; Hechler said. &#8220;But this  process of writing good laws that are not enforced somehow has to be  toughened to\u00a0<em>require<\/em> the enforcement.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Obama speaks at a memorial service on Sunday for miners who died in the Upper Big Branch explosion. (EPA\/ZUMApress.com) Recently released inspector notes charging Upper Big Branch operators with &#8220;negligence&#8221; on safety issues offer further evidence that the mine owner, while chiefly responsible for conditions inside the mine, wasn&#8217;t solely to blame for this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4315,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-545704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545704\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}