WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2010

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Federal regulators to review mine’s safety record

safety from A1

It’s a signal that something is not right there, something is going wrong at that mine.” Safety citations have rarely, if

ever, led federal officials to order the closure of a mine. One reason, those officials said Tuesday, is that companies can contest cita- tions and fines proposed by the MSHA, which delays their effect. The company has contested nearly a third of the violations it has received since 2005, focusing on those carrying the costliest penalties. Its appeals have held up about $1.3million in proposed penalties for the violations, rec- ords show. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-

W.Va.) suggested that investiga- tors look at how mining compa- nies have drawn out the appeals process, noting that the process could potentially delay closing unsafe mines for years. “I’m not a lawyer, but I know

how lawyers work, so they can stretch these things out,” Rocke- feller said. Moreover, any administration

is reluctant to close a business. “How is the labor secretary go- ing to be viewed, how is the presi- dent going to be viewed if he has his agencies out there closing businesses?” said Monforton, a research professor at George Washington University. The 2006 MINER Act — passed by Congress in the wake of an ex- plosion that year at the Sago Mine in West Virginia that killed 12 workers — bolstered the Mine Safety and Health Administra- tion’s inspection staff and in- creased penalties for safety vio- lations. It has led to a higher number of citations and penalties —and more challenges by compa- nies, federal mine safety officials said. Safety violations do not go on a company’s permanent safety record until a dispute is settled, officials said. Mines must be inspected quar-

terly, and violations can range from serious failures to mundane

JEFF GENTNER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Trevor, 11, and Rabekka Quarles, 9, lost their father, Gary, in the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine. Rescue efforts are set to resume Wednesday for four missing workers.

problems such as dirty showers or not having soap available for min- ers to wash their hands, said Monforton, who helped investi-

gate the Sago disaster. But Mas- sey’s violations included prob- lems with ventilation, which Monforton said is essential for re-

moving the methane and coal dust that build up during mining. “It’s the main way we dilute those dust and gases so they don’t ex-

plode,” she said. “It’s a critical piece of mine safety and how you prevent explosions.” The disaster highlighted again the costs of coal use, which is also amajor source of greenhouse gas- es that scientists say cause cli- mate change. About half of U.S. electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. Richmond-based Massey is the nation’s fourth-larg- est coal company and the largest in the central Appalachian re- gion. The company’s stock plunged 11.4 percent Tuesday, erasing more than $400 million of market value. Massey and its outspoken chief

MATT SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

The blast at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal killed at least 25 miners. Four others are still missing.

Mining town waits to learn names — and fates

waiting from A1

seen carbon-monoxide levels suddenly rise, and oxygen levels drop. And then, a blast of air strong enough to move the heavy cart that had carried them. “They said everything went

black.” The miner said Tuesday that he was left numb. He would be devastated if he lost one friend in the mine. Now, whole crews were gone. “You find out that it’s that

many, it’s 25, and you don’t know what to do,” he said. People in the Coal River Valley — a string of little towns wedged into wide spots between the val- ley walls — were left with a free- floating dread. In a place where mining is the mainstay of the economy, most of them were certain they knew at least one of the dead. The question was who. They made phone calls, and passed gossip at the City Diner in Whi- tesville, a few miles north of Montcoal. The neighbor boy? The one who was in my daugh- ter’s class? Arvon’s Floral hadn’t sold a single condolence bou- quet — people were either in shock or didn’t know quite who should receive flowers. “I’m sure we musta put clothes on them,” said Harry “Red” Brewer, in the roadside store where he and his wife sell miners’ work clothes. They have sold so many young men their first uniform for a Massey En-

KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POST

Greg Scarbro, a miner and minister, tried to comfort the families.

ergy mine: red hat, green reflec- tive tape sewn on the shirt. And they have seen many come back to get the black hat and orange tape that signified a promotion worth $5 more an hour. Now, they wondered: Which miners? “These guys are like our sons,”

said Marion Brewer, who sews on the tape. “Here I told my son to go into the mines. Now this happens. Boy, I’m glad he didn’t listen to me on that.” About 50 people gathered

Tuesday evening for a vigil at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Whitesville. The Scripture reading was the Easter story, Jesus rising from the dead. Priest S.A. Arokiadass said the point was to reaffirm that, for Christians, death is not final. In the pews, a few people

cried through the service. “They’re not affected [direct- ly], but they are affected, be- cause they’re all coal miners,” said Arokiadass, a native of southern India who came to West Virginia three years ago. “Coal is their life,” he said. “And when people die in the coal . . . they’ve lost something within them.”

The miners’ families were se- questered near the mine on Tuesday, although some did speak to reporters. Diana Davis said her husband,

Timmy Davis, 51, died in the ex- plosion, along with his nephews, Josh Napper, 27, and Cory Davis, 20, according to the Associated Press. Timmy Davis Jr. said of his father: “He loved to work underground. He loved that place.” Two other family mem-

bers survived the blast, he said. Elsewhere, the roadside signs

that advertise dinner specials or upcoming sermons had been changed to messages of hope for the missing men. “Pray for our miners family’s,” someone had written in the coal dust that coated the front win- dow at Carrie’s Country Corner Market in Whitesville. A few blocks away, a similar sign hung outside the New Life Church assembly hall: “Pray for our miners and families.” But inside, a group of miners’ wives looked at the situation dif- ferently: If it weren’t for coal, places like this couldn’t exist. “We’ve had people come here and ask us, ‘Why do they coal- mine?’ ” said Ina Williams, a lit- tle incredulous. “It’s just the life.” Two seats down was Tammy

Gordon. Her husband, son and brother are miners, and before them her father and father-in- law. She said the accident was a reminder that, even in 2010, men still go down in mines and don’t come back. And, even in 2010, people here accept that. Along Coal River Road, the

area’s many mines are marked by roadside signs that say “Am- bulance Entrance” and the name of the mine. “You just have to have faith

that God has them in his hands,” Gordon said. “Because if you don’t, you’ll just go crazy. . . . As long as they still haven’t found them, we still have hope.”

fahrenthold@washpost.com

executive, Don L. Blankenship, have long been lightning rods for criticism among environmental- ists, labor leaders and lawmakers. Blankenship has called con- gressional Democrats seeking cli- mate-change legislation “gree- niacs,” and he has said, “I don’t believe that climate change is real.” His opposition to organized mine labor — the Upper Big Branch coal mine is non-union- ized — has also earned him the enmity of union leaders. “This incident isn’t just a mat- ter of happenstance, but rather the inevitable result of a profit- driven system and reckless corpo- rate conduct,” Richard L. Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO and for- mer head of the United Mine Workers of America, said Tues- day. “Many mining companies have given too little attention to safety over the years and too much to the bottom line.” He pointed to Massey’s safety vio- lations and its failure to pay many of those fines while contesting them. The tone of federal enforce- ment, industry experts say, can be set by the president, who ap- points the head of the MSHA. President George W. Bush chose David D. Lauriski, a former coal

Precautions

Coal mines take several precautions to mitigate the two main causes of explosions: methane gas and coal dust. Methane can explode with the slightest spark if its concentration reaches 5 percent; coal dust is very combustible if too much accumulates.

FOR METHANE

Ventilation

Huge fans pull fresh air through the mine, keeping methane concentrations low.

FOR COAL DUST

Water

Sprayed water suppresses dust as the mining machine extracts coal.

SOURCES: Christopher Bise, chairman of the West Virginia University Department of Mining Engineering; West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey

Rock dust

By law, underground coal mine surfaces are coated with powdery,

incombustible “rock dust” (often ground limestone) that covers and neutralizes coal dust.

BONNIE BERKOWITZ/THE WASHINGTON POST

Gas detectors

Mineworkers carry detectors, and machine-mounted sensors shut down

equipment if the methane concentration gets too high.

The ventilation citations “are a red flag. It’s a signal that

something is not

right there.”

— Celeste Monforton,

former federal mining regulator

industry executive. President Obama chose Joseph A. Main, a former safety director for the United Mine Workers of America. Former federal officials and others who know mining said that Lauriski initially scaled back mine-safety regulation and that, under the Bush administration, 17 of 26 regulations proposed by the Clinton administration were dropped or withdrawn. “Lax is not nearly a strong enough word to describe how mine safety was handled in the first part of the Bush administra- tion,” said Phil Smith, a spokes- man for the United Mine Workers of America. “It became a lot less about enforcing rules and reg- ulations and more of a touchy- feely thing: It’s bad what you are doing, and you need to do better.” But Smith said enforcement

stiffened during the Bush admin- istration’s final few years, espe- cially after the Sago disaster. Lauriski did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday. “There will be a full, thorough

investigation of the issues raised here,” Main said. “It’s going to in- volve a multitude of different in- vestigative bodies.”

mufsons@washpost.commarkonj@washpost.com

ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.com

Research director Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60