Vol. 74/No. 34      September 6, 2010

Federal government officials have cited Massey for failing to report more than 20 safety violations at the Upper Big Branch Mine in the two years before the blast, according to documents released by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) August 17.

Four of the violations directly involve the explosion. Others between January 2008 and early this year include “unreported roof collapses, assorted injuries, and two instances of miners exercising their right to move out of dusty areas of the mine because they’ve contracted black lung disease,” reported Associated Press.

MSHA said it didn’t know about these violations and only discovered them while doing an audit on its investigation of the explosion.

“It comes as no surprise that Massey has been found not to have reported injuries and accidents,” United Mine Workers of America spokesperson Phil Smith told AP. “We’ve been hearing stories about this a long time.”

Massey is the fourth-largest U.S. coal company, and the largest mine operator in central Appalachia. Most workers employed at these mines are nonunion.

In another development, reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the second quarter of this year indicate the high number of safety violations and fines incurred by some of the largest coal companies.

An analysis of these files by SNL Energy, a business and corporate intelligence firm, reported that Massey was cited for more than $4 million in proposed fines during this period. The company also racked up the most “significant and substantial” safety violations—1,075. Peabody Energy Corp. had 705 citations and CONSOL Energy, 546, the second and third highest.  
 
 
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