The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has released additional results from its ongoing investigation into the disaster at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine, which killed 29 miners last year in West Virginia. Like the independent investigation team, MSHA investigators cite poorly controlled coal dust, inadequate ventilation, and a corporate culture that emphasized coal […]
On April 5, 2010, an explosion occurred at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The blast rocketed through 2.5 miles of underground chambers and tunnels nearly 1,000 feet beneath the mountains, and it killed 29 miners and severely injured another. The youngest victim was Cory Thomas Davis, age 20, who […]
One year ago, an explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia killed 29 miners. The Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward Jr., who has covered the disaster and its aftermath extensively, writes today on his Coal Tattoo blog: Stay tuned today to hear a lot of political leaders talking about coal miners […]
Celeste wrote last week about how the Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward Jr. broke the story of how a previously unpublished report sent to Congress by the Mine Safety and Health Administration two weeks before the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster warned about serious enforcement lapses, including incomplete inspections and inadequate enforcement actions. In addition to […]