A truck driver has died following an accident at an Alpha Natural Resources surface mine in Southern West Virginia.
Alpha says in a news release that the fuel truck overturned Tuesday morning on a haul road on the Republic Energy surface mine property in Raleigh County.
Alpha says the driver was employed by Rogers Petroleum, a fuel service contractor for the Bristol, Virginia-based coal company. The driver’s name hasn’t been released.
The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training is investigating the accident. The office says the Republic Energy mine spans Raleigh, Fayette and Kanawha counties.
The accident occurred a day after a worker at one of Alpha’s affiliate mines in Southwest Virginia was killed when he was struck by a falling rock.
The Patriot Coal-owned Boone Co. mine where two men died Monday night had a historically bad record of safety violations and practiced a dangerous type of mining known as “retreat mining.”
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration handed down a Pattern of Violations designation to Brody No. 1 Mine in October 2013 after citing 253 serious violations during a review period. An MSHA audit of Brody Mining’s records found injuries of miners that the operator failed to report to the federal agency.
What is Retreat Mining?
Retreat mining is a method of leaving pillars to support the roof but since there is profitable coal left in those pillars, the operator pulls them causing an intentional collapse.
In a August 2007 article published in The Washington Post, former mine safety official and current attorney representing miners Tony Oppegard said retreat mining is one “the most dangerous type of mining there is.”
“All underground coal mining is inherently dangerous but retreat mining is ultrahazardous and operators have to comply religiously with every step of the pillar removal plan to protect the safety of their miners,” Oppegard told West Virginia Public Broadcasting Tuesday afternoon.
“Most of the time when there is an accident on a pillar section or retreat miner section it’s because there’s not been compliance with the plan or because the miners have not been trained (properly).”
Credit Stephen Greb / Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky
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Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky
Brody No. 1 Mine’s Pattern of Violation Designation
In a letter of notification dated October 24, 2013, MSHA District Manager David Mandeville notified Brody Mining’s safety manager of the Pattern of Violations designation. The new rules give MSHA more authority to immediately shut down the mine if another serious violation is issued.
At that time, Patriot said in a statement that the company did not deserve this status because some of the citations were inherited from the previous owner.
Patriot gained control of Brody Mining on December 31, 2012.
According to MSHA officials, the Brody No. 1 Mine has received 69 withdrawal (closure/shutdown) orders since the initial POV designation. The mine remains under that status.
The mine can be removed from POV status only when an inspection of the entire mine is completed and no Significant and Substantial (S&S) violations are found, or no withdrawal order is issued by MSHA within 90 days of the issuance of the pattern notice.
An online tool allows operators to monitor montly progress with POV status.
You can check the latest on the mine’s improvements on MSHA’s website.
Specific Types of MSHA Citations that Led to POV Designation
18 citations/orders related to “conditions and/or practices that contribute to ventilation and/or methane hazards”
20 citations/orders related to “conditions and/or practices that contribute to emergency preparedness and escapeway hazards”
9 citations/orders relating to “conditions and or practices that contribute to roof and rib hazards”
7 citations/orders related to “conditions or practices that contribute to inadequate examinations”
You can read the letter notifying the Brody No. 1 Mine of their POV status and see the citations and orders here:
Details of inspections, accidents, violations at the mine can be accessed through MSHA’s website by searching the Mine ID number: 4609086.
The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training confirms that a miner died at Mettiki Coal’s Mountain View Mine in Tucker County.
In an email, the state office said 20-year-old Daniel Lambka of Kitzmiller, Maryland, “suffered crushing injuries”.
The statement said the accident happened around 9:10 p.m., Thursday night.
Mr. Lambka had 2 ½ years of mining experience 4 ½ months of which were acquired at this mine. His position was that of general laborer.
State officials are investigating. Inspectors from the West Virginia Office of Miner’s Health Safety and Training have been on-scene conducting their investigation since Thursday evening.
Forty-two miners died in the U.S. in work-related accidents in 2013 according to preliminary data.
That’s up from the 36 miners who died in 2012.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration pointed out that fatalities occurred at a record low for the first three quarters of 2013. During the fourth quarter, six coal miners and nine metal/nonmetal miners died in mining accidents, a significant increase from the same period in 2012.
West Virginia lost six coal miners last year, the most in the country. Kentucky had the most metal/nonmetal mining deaths, with four.
In a release, Assistant Secretary of the Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joe Main said, “Mining deaths are preventable, and those that occurred in 2013 are no exception." "While we have made a number of improvements and have been moving mine safety in the right direction, the increased number of metal/nonmetal deaths makes clear we need to do more to protect our nation’s miners."
The most common causes of mining accidents in 2013 involved machinery and powered haulage equipment.
Kings Dominion does not plan to host a Halloween themed attraction called, Miner’s Revenge next year.
The Virginia-based amusement park does not plan to host a Halloween themed attraction called, Miner’s Revenge next year. The park charged more than $32 for admission during the weekends in October. The haunted attraction’s similarities to the Upper Big Branch disaster similarities infuriated the families of the victims. Some have said it’s eerily similar to their real life nightmare.
Halloween Haunt 2013 at Kings Dominion featured attractions included Edge of Darkness, a show described to “bring a decaying circus back to life.” Zombie High is listed as “an outbreak that would cover the world in days.” Miner’s Revenge doesn’t have a description on the website anymore.
Ellen Smith, Owner and Managing Editor of Mine Safety and Health Newsquoted the description in an article before it was taken down stating in part:
“It was reported to be the worst coal mine accident in history. The families of missing miners begged for help but it was decided that a rescue was too dangerous. The miners were left entombed deep underground. Lamps at their sides and pick-axes in their hands they are searching for the men who left them to die…“
After reading this Smith started a petition to have the attraction stopped.
“I questioned whether or not I was overstepping a line in journalism where I was becoming part of the story,” Smith said. “I didn’t want to be but I wanted Kings Dominion to understand just how serious this was.”
"You would not make an attraction from what happened on 9-11. You would not have an attraction of someone being stuck in a 110 story high-rise and not being able to get out because the middle part of the structure was blown apart and that people was jumping out of windows you would never do that. I did not understand why they chose to take this theme when it hits this close to home. And they’re in Virginia they’re next door neighbors," said Smith.
Smith also said, even despite her status as a journalist, she “cannot be silent.”
Smith’s petition collected more than 300 signatures while a petition started by a Beckley resident collect more than 100.
The Halloween Haunt event ended this past weekend concluding the amusement park’s season as well. Still, Smith says she plans to present the signatures to Kings Dominion and hopes to send a message along with the names.
“What might seem so innocent can really really hurt people and bring back memories and traumatic events that they don’t need,” she said. “They’ve already been traumatized.”
Gary Quarles, who has actively spoken out to honor the memory of his son Gary Wayne Quarles, in the past, rounded the courage to share his fury about the attraction.
Credit Jessica Lilly
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Twenty-nine helmets hanging on red crosses close to the UBB entrance is just one memorial the community setup after the explosion.
“We’re all trying to heal and go on with our everyday life,” he said. “We would like to be just left alone.”
In an email, Kings Dominion spokesperson Gene Petriello said, “Miners Revenge is not designed, nor intended, to depict a specific situation. Rather it is simply a themed Halloween attraction for the 2013 Haunt season at Kings Dominion.”
But Quarles says the description hits way too close to home.
“The public don’t really need to know,” he said. “They don’t need to know about all that stuff about our loved ones whoever could have been blown plum to pieces or who wasn’t.”
The UMWA joined the families to say “We are very disappointed by this outrageous “attraction” at Kings Dominion. It’s extremely insensitive to all families who’ve lost loved ones in mining tragedies over the years.”
Petriello said, upon completion of each season, all Halloween attractions are reviewed to allow for new themes. As part of its regular rotation, Kings Dominion does not intend to operate the Miner’s Revenge Halloween attraction next year.
It’s unclear if the attraction will remain on the “regular rotation” schedule past 2014.
Patriot Coal is responding to recent actions from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Yesterday, Thursday MSHA released a statement stating that the agency had labeled two West Virginia coal mines and one in Kentucky as pattern violators, meaning they’ve repeatedly broken federal health and safety regulations.
The POV screening is the first one conducted since MSHA’s revised Pattern of Violations rule went into effect on March 25, 2013. These revisions improve MSHA’s ability to act when it finds a pattern of violations.
After no mine was placed on POV for the first 33 years after the Mine Act went into effect, these POV notices mark the third year in a row that MSHA has used this critical tool to protect miners from serious hazards.
One of the mines is the Brody Mine No. 1 in Boone County owned by Patriot Coal. MSHA says:
“Brody Mining’s Brody Mine No. 1 received 253 S&S violations during the review period. An MSHA audit of Brody Mining’s records found that injuries of miners resulted in 1,757 lost work days at the mine, 367 of which were from eight lost-time injuries that Brody Mining failed to report to MSHA. The company was also audited during the 2012 POV screening process. In that audit, MSHA found 29 injuries Brody Mining failed to report and 724 unreported lost work days.”
Patriot says the company does not deserve this status because some of the citations were inherited from the previous owner. Patriot gained control from Brody Mining on December 31, 2012. In a statement, officials at Patriot said several of the violations and the severity measure cited in the POV finding took place under the prior owner.
Patriot says after the purchase, the Company submitted a Compliance Improvement Plan to MSHA and that the Brody mine compliance performance has improved by 40 percent.
Patriot claims to have replaced all former officers and key mine-level managers at this mine. Patriot says MSHA approved a Corrective Action Plan submitted in September.
Company officials say they intend to vigorously contest the POV finding.
The other mine placed on POV status is Pocahontas Coal Co.’s Affinity Mine in Raleigh County, where two men died within two weeks of each other in February. MSHA says:
“Pocahontas Coal Company’s Affinity Mine received 124 S&S violations during the review period, a quarter of which MSHA cited as involving high negligence or reckless disregard for the health and safety of miners. Two miners died in separate accidents during the review period; the fatalities occurred within two weeks of each other and both involved scoops. Affinity Mine received 35 closure orders during the review period, the third highest in the country.”
The third is Tram Energy’s Mine No. 1 in Floyd County, Ky. MSHA says:
“Tram Energy’s Mine No. 1 received 120 S&S violations during the POV review period—more than half of those violations involved elevated levels of operator negligence. MSHA issued 40 closure orders at Tram Energy during the POV review period, the most of any mine in the country. The company has incurred approximately $170,000 in civil penalties since it began operating in 2012. All but $666 is unpaid and delinquent.”
In 2010 29 men were killed in the Upper Big Branch explosion. The then Massey owned mine had been cited for 639 violations in the 15 months prior to the explosion, and yet was never put on POV status. Before MSHA was required to issue a ‘potential pattern of violations” status. Under the revised rule MSHA no longer has to wait for contested citations to play out in court.
