Public News Service-WV
April 13, 2010
"Something Fishy" At Mine Where 29 Died
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -Federal mine safety officials say explosions like the one that killed 29 West Virginia miners last week are completely preventable. Such things shouldn't happen, they say. And congressman Nick Rahall, whose district includes Montcoal, says the record at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Coal Mine there smells.
"Doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine by looking at all the violations that have been issued here that something was wrong, something was fishy here. That's clear by the whole public record."
The Secretary-Treasurer of the West Virginia
AFL-CIO, Larry Matheney, says one problem is that miners don't complain about safety for fear of losing their jobs.
"It's the economy and high unemployment, particularly in the coal fields; miners' economic survival, their families versus personal safety, putting their lives at risk."
Early indications suggest that methane built up in the mine and ignited. An investigation by the Charleston Gazette suggests that parts of the mine might have been shut down, except that Massey aggressively fought regulators' efforts to close off unsafe areas. Massey contends those violations had nothing to do with the accident.
Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/13438-1
---
To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove@publicnewsservice.org and put the word "remove" in the subject line.