Faking safety checks and disabling monitors for explosive methane were common practices at the Massey Energy mine where an explosion killed 29 coal miners last April, and the company could have prevented the blast with basic safety procedures, the first official report on the disaster said today. To download a 5 MB PDF of the report, click here.
The report was written by an investigative team working for the state of West Virginia and headed by Davitt McAteer, right, former head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. It blames the deaths on "a corporate culture in which wrongdoing became acceptable, where deviation became the norm," Howard Berkes of National Public Radio reports.
In his Coal Tattoo blog, Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette focuses on a Massey foreman "who it appears didn’t always perform the important mine safety checks required of him." Ward reports that McAteer told the families of the dead miners, "This company ran this mine in a profoundly reckless manner." (Read more) Ward also has a useful roundup of early coverage; here is his breaking-news report.
In his Coal Tattoo blog, Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette focuses on a Massey foreman "who it appears didn’t always perform the important mine safety checks required of him." Ward reports that McAteer told the families of the dead miners, "This company ran this mine in a profoundly reckless manner." (Read more) Ward also has a useful roundup of early coverage; here is his breaking-news report.
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