Massey Energy's Performance Coal Co. Claims 7; 19 Missing; Explosion Cause?
Reported Violations Not a Good Sign for Upper Big Branch Mine
According to WCHS [1] there were no findings, thus far, of the explosion cause. It could be a methane explosion, defective equipment, improper ventilation, or even human error. No word on safety routes at this time.
Could there have been warning signs?
West Virginia had a 2.9 tremor in Logan County and a Braxton County 3.4 in magnitude. As reported through WCHS Eyewitness News [2] Easter Sunday's 2.8 earthquake that occurred in Braxton County was upgraded to a 3.4 after the preliminary. Both quakes occurred in the last couple of days.
Tests between microearthquake activity associated with underground coal mining in Buchanan County, Virginia has been conducted in the past. In 1989 G. A. Bollinger produced a report [3] suggesting microearthquakes do occur during mining operations. But West Virginia rarely has earthquakes that register above 3.
Question is, could a couple out of the ordinary tremors play key in what was to come underground and would the coal company pay attention if a connection existed?
The Massey Energy's Performance Coal Co. sold 36.7 tons of produced coal. On their web site, MasseyEnergyCo.com, Elizabeth Chamberlin, VP Safety and Training, is viewed in a hard hat with a smile above the words "We strive to sustain excellence in safety. It is our top priority." Massey Energy is a large company with mining operations in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia. Most by which are in West Virginia.
According to Mountain Justice [4] in 2010 Massey Energy's other subsidiary (of many) Marfork Coal Co. was blasting too close to the Brushy Fork Dam. The Department of Environmental Protection issued a violation for not meeting the safety measures in consideration as to what force a structure could withstand. If the dam breaks, by Massey Energy's conclusions, deaths could rise just short of 1,000. The numbers did not stop production.
According to The Wall Street Journal [5] the Upper Big Branch mine had 6 violations with 4 since March and 468 safety violations since last year. Unfortunately, it just may take deaths for coal mining procedures to change coal operations. At least let's hope so this time around.
As of tonight the search is on for the missing as West Virginia is swarmed with emergency teams.
________
Source(s):
[1] Steve Borecky, "Coal Mine Explosion", WCHS Eyewitness News (retrieved April 5, 2010)
[2] Steve Borecky, "Minor Earthquake", WCHS Eyewitness News (retrieved April 5, 2010)
[3] G. A. Bollinger, "Microearthquake Activity Report", Metapress.com (retrieved April 5, 2010)
[4] "Protestors Occupy Marfork Mining", Mountain Justice (retrieved April 5, 2010)
[5] James R. Hagerty, "West Virginia Mine Blast Kills Seven", The Wall Street Journal (retrieved April 5, 2010)
Published by Lori Lane
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10 Comments
Post a CommentNicely written.
Even if the authorities can't make a case against Massey & Blankenship for the safety violations causing the disaster, they should be able to do something about their paying less that 200K on nearly 900K worth of fines. I say, give the guy 3 hots and a cot for a while to instill a proper measure of respect, not only for the law, but his employees.
My heart goes out to the miners and families!
Mining just sounds so scary and it's awful the danger signs didn't prompt more action
I heard about this wow amazing!
I found it interesting when I listened to one of the news reports and a woman said, "This is our life. Our men have all worked in the mines for years. It's what they do. Things happen, we pray and hope for the best." Imagine that. I don't think I could have been that calm or passive if my husband, father, brother or neighbor was down in that mine! Cheers :)
coal mining is an extremely dangerous job.
I heard of this earlier.
There are now 12 dead (as of 1 a.m.). 10 are still missing...
The Wall Street Journal article plugged in as [5] source has been changed and updated. The original Wall Street Journal source article [5] can be found at http://www.feedcry.com/archive/aid/646227?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fulltext%2Fwsj%2FWhatNewsUS+(WSJ%3A+What%27s+News+US)