The Mine Safety and Health Administration's Coal Division head Kevin Stricklin had been scheduled to meet with Massey Energy officials before the April 5 mine disaster at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine. But the meeting was not scheduled until April 8th, Mine Safety and Health News has confirmed with MSHA.
The meeting was over concerns over safety at other Massey operations and Stricklin had requested to meet top company officials. MSHA did not say which mines were of concern to the agency, but said the planned meeting did not concern the UBB mine where the explosion occurred on April 5th.
Mine Safety and Health News looked at 42 underground Massey mines listed as "active," on MSHA's data base. Of those 42, Mine Safety and Health News found 23 underground mines whose "Violations Per Inspection Day" or VPID was above the national average of .71, while 13 mines had less violations than the national average. Six mines simply did not have enough history to make an accurate determination, and there were many new mines listed as new with no history.
However, one mine stands out as having a troubling history and may have been on MSHA's agenda.
In particular, the company's Ruby Energy Mine in Mingo County, W.Va., has a current VPID rate of 1.58 - more than twice the national average for underground bituminous coal. It had 46 -104(d)(2) orders in 2008 and seven imminent danger orders that year. It also had seven 104(b) orders in 2008. These orders are when MSHA issues a citation, and finds that the condition has not been corrected. Under 104(b), MSHA will order miners to be withdrawn from that part of the mine until alleged violations are corrected. Ruby Energy faced $1.8 million in fines in 2008, of which it paid $184,000. The remainder is under contest. Ruby Energy showed some improvements in 2009, but still had 15 - 104(d)(2) orders and one imminent danger order, and three 104(b) orders. MSHA issued $1.6 in penalties and the company paid $185,000 in penalties with the majority under contest in 2009.
Ellen Smith is the award-winning editor of Mine Safety and Health News, a print-only newsletter covering the mining industry. She has been covering mining issues since 1987.
By: Chuckie Corra
April 10, 2010 11:12
Firedoglake
"...From DC: Cecil Roberts (President, UMWA) says there have been 3 organizing attempts at
Big Branch mine, 65% – 70% of workers signed union cards, Blankenship
personally threatened the workers that if they voted for the union, he would close the mine down and they would lose their jobs. This is one of the biggest steps forward in prosecuting Don Blankenship for his negligence..."
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/40081
http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/
Just one more reason to get off fossil fuels.
Apparently bouncing rushbo doesn't know that the UBB mine was a non union mine. And that Blankenship and Massey use whatever tactics they can to break unions,including the hiring of scab workers and employing the state police to break picket lines.
Applies to everything he says.
Brad Johnson on Apr 13th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Think Progtress
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/04/13/limbaugh-coal-mine/
By Tim Wheeler
Thursday, Apr 8, 2010
"...According to documents posted on MSHA's website, 2,118 citations were issued against Performance Coal Company (wholly owned by Massey) for safety violations at the Upper Big Branch mine since the year 2000. It included 495 violations and $911,802 in "proposed" fines last year.
Since 2005, Massey Energy as a whole, has been cited for 38,997 safety violations in its 35 underground and 12 mountaintop removal mines.
MSHA "proposed" fines totaling $43.5 million for those violations but the company contested the vast majority of these fines, 85 percent in 2007, for example. MSHA, then packed with former coal company executives, backed down. Massey, as one critic put it, "got away, literally, with murder," paying a combined total of only $11.8 million over that five year period.
The corporation, one of the most notorious union-busters in the nation, employs 5,400 miners who produce over 40 million tons of coal annually.
Back in 1984-1985, the company, then called AT Massey, used vicious strikebreaking tactics, with all-out support of President Ronald Reagan, to bust a strike by the United Mine Workers seeking union recognition at Massey mines in Logan County, W. Va.
Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship reported $24 million in salary and stock options in 2007 and $11.2 million in 2008..."
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_59265.shtml
Your negativity is really bringing the stock down.
by Tim Wheeler
April 13th, 2010
"...United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts told MSNBC's Ed Show April 9 that the UMW had conducted three campaigns to unionize the huge underground mine, one of 47 Massey mines that employ 5,400 miners, all but a handful of them denied union protection.
Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, a notorious corporate exploiter obsessed with maximum production and profits, spearheaded the campaign to block the union, Roberts charged.
"This guy, making $30-some million in 2005, went inside the coal mine and sat down with every single worker and said: 'If you vote for the union, you're not going to have a job because I will close this mine down....'
http://www.peoplesworld.org/massey-ceo-to-miners-i-will-close-this-mine-if-you-vote-union/
Oh, they're holding meetings. That's nice. Another way to appear to care and tacking action when in fact nothing is going to change until UNIONS are brought in and FORCE the owners to change.
Rush is blaming the Unions for this mine disaster. One small note this mine wasn't unionized and was broken up and prevented from forming many times.
Surprisingly, union led mines have less accidents than non-union led mines.
You won't hear that from Rush of course.
There are only 4 underground coal mines in Canada. Of those, the two in Cape Breton are actually mining coal under the seabed, which is kind of neat.
And in the past, we have had our share of coal mine disasters too. I think that's why most of our mining is now surface.