{"id":573402,"date":"2010-05-21T00:33:03","date_gmt":"2010-05-21T04:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/?p=85397"},"modified":"2010-05-21T00:33:03","modified_gmt":"2010-05-21T04:33:03","slug":"massey-ceo-pushes-blame-for-deadly-blast-on-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/573402","title":{"rendered":"Massey CEO Pushes Blame for Deadly Blast on Government"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_85396\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 490px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/blankenship.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-85396\" title=\"Don Blankenship\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/blankenship-480x353.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"353\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship testifies before a Senate committee on Thursday. (Pete Marovich\/ZUMApress.com)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Under fire for his company\u2019s safety record following a deadly mining  accident last month, Massey CEO Don Blankenship tried to shift the blame  Thursday, telling Senate lawmakers that interference from federal  regulators might very well have caused the disaster.<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_3087\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 140px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3087\" title=\"congress\" src=\"http:\/\/washingtonindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/congress.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> Not  only did the Mine Safety and Health Administration force Massey to  alter its ventilation system at the doomed Upper Big Branch Mine,  Blankenship charged, but \u201cjust days\u201d before the tragedy, MSHA had also  certified that the mine was in \u201cgood condition,&#8221; he claimed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe  complied with MSHA safety orders even when we strenuously disagreed  with them and believed them to be detrimental to the health and safety  of the mine,\u201d Blankenship told lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations  Subcommittee on Labor. \u201cThey forced us to ventilate backwards by not  approving [our] plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though investigators have yet  to determine the source of the blast, mine-safety experts suspect that  it was caused by a buildup of methane combined with an accumulation of  airborne coal dust &#8212; two conditions that mine ventilation systems are  designed to alleviate.<\/p>\n<p>To top it all off,  Blankenship added, MSHA now wants a closed-door investigation, which he  fears could allow the agency to clear itself of wrongdoing without the  public knowing all the facts.<\/p>\n<p>The message  was clear, and it wasn&#8217;t lost on Sen. Robert Byrd. The 92-year-old West  Virginia Democrat told Joseph Main, the head of MSHA, \u201cThis sounds like  someone is trying to blame your agency for the death of 29 miners.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Main  was quick to push back, arguing that the ultimate responsibility for  miners\u2019 safety lies with the mine operator. \u201cMSHA did not run the Upper  Big Branch Mine &#8212; Massey Energy did,\u201d he said. \u201cI have no clue what the  basis of [Blankenship&#8217;s] argument is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The comments  arrive as federal, state and independent investigators continue to  probe the cause of the April 5 disaster. The tragedy, the most deadly  mine accident in 40 years, has put the spotlight on Massey&#8217;s safety  record, reputed to be the worst in the business.<\/p>\n<p>Blankenship  defended Massey\u2019s safety record Thursday, maintaining that the number  of citations it&#8217;s racked up is &#8220;probably about average&#8221; for the  industry. If it&#8217;s higher, he added, that&#8217;s because mining in Central  Appalachia involves &#8220;difficult underground conditions,&#8221; and because  Massey produces more coal in the region than anyone else.<\/p>\n<p>Yet  MSHA data don\u2019t support that argument. In 2009, for instance, the Upper  Big Branch racked up 515 safety violations while producing roughly 1.2  million tons of coal. Meanwhile, the Robinson Run mine, a Consol-owned  operation near the Upper Big Branch, produced 5.5 million tons of coal  in the same year while receiving just 158 citations.<\/p>\n<p>The  discrepancy wasn\u2019t lost on Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine  Workers of America, who accused Massey of nurturing a culture where  production is prioritized over safety, and workers are scared to file  complaints for fear of losing their jobs. &#8220;This isn&#8217;t the average,&#8221;  Roberts said of Massey&#8217;s safety violations. &#8220;This is deplorable.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mr.  Blankenship,&#8221; Byrd added, &#8220;Massey is not average.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Thursday&#8217;s  hearing marked Blankenship&#8217;s first appearance before Congress since the  April 5 blast. But you wouldn&#8217;t have known it by the turnout. Although  two Capitol police officers roamed the room, no protestors surfaced. And  aside from Byrd, only two other Democrats &#8212; Sens. Tom Harkin (Iowa)  and Patty Murray (Wash.) &#8212; attended.<\/p>\n<p>No Republicans  showed up at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship testifies before a Senate committee on Thursday. (Pete Marovich\/ZUMApress.com) Under fire for his company\u2019s safety record following a deadly mining accident last month, Massey CEO Don Blankenship tried to shift the blame Thursday, telling Senate lawmakers that interference from federal regulators might very well have caused the disaster. Image by: [&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-573402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573402","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=573402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}