Don Blankenship, Former Massey Energy CEO: As An Appalachianer, I Don't Know What 'Hubris' Means

Former Massey CEO: As An Appalachianer, I Don't Know What 'Hubris' Means

Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy, joined HuffPost Live Wednesday to discuss "Upper Big Branch: Never Again," a new film he commissioned to tell his side of the story of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion, which killed 29 workers.

Host Josh Zepps asked Blankenship to comment on the Governor’s Independent Investigation Panel report, which found Massey Energy at fault for the explosion, and stated the company created a "public perception its operations exceeded industry safety standards," while knowingly violating the law and endangering employees.

The report further stated that "the story of Upper Big Branch is a cautionary tale of hubris."

When Zepps invoked that part of the report, Blankenship joked that his Southern background precluded him from fully understanding the line.

"As an Appalachianer, I don't even know if I know what hubris means," he said.

"But, we know what safety is," he continued, "and the mines that we ran were safer than the average mine. We invented and created a lot of safety enhancements. We lived among them."

Watch the rest of Don Blankenship's interview with HuffPost Live below:

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