Amid a shareholder campaign against the re-election of three board members, Massey Energy has hired outside help to conduct its internal investigation of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster that killed 29 West Virginia miners. Bobby R. Inman, Massey's lead independent director and a former CIA director, "said the company's board hired an academic expert to evaluate violations cited by the [Mine Safety and Health Administration] over the past two years, and 'what did we do with each of those,'" Joann S. Lubin and Kris Maher of The Wall Street Journal report. The board also asked outside director Richard Gabrys to lead a special committee that will examine Massey's safety record and the April 5 explosion.
Inman declined to reveal the identity of the academic expert hired to evaluate the violations. Bill Patterson, executive director of CtW Investment Group, an arm of labor federation Change to Win, is launching a campaign against the re-election of three Massey board members. Patterson told the Journal the board's use of an academic "sounds like a possible step in the right direction," but he is troubled by the refusal to identify the expert. "The pattern of conflicted expertise is enormous here," he said.
Separate from Massey's announcement Tuesday, "Federal mine-safety investigators disclosed they assembled a new team to respond to anonymous tips" related to the disaster, Lubin and Maher report. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis asked for the new group to gather confidential information from the public, miners and family members of those killed in the accident. The Labor Department also formed an internal review team to evaluate the actions of MSHA personnel before the explosion. (Read more)
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