UBB Story Archives - Page 2 of 2 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Subjects in UBB Film Work to Separate from Don Blankenship

Families of the victims are bracing for another anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Disaster; an explosion that ripped so violently through an underground coal mine in Raleigh County it left metal and sent a blast of air miles from the source.

Former UBB miner and survivor of that fateful day, Stanley “Goose” Stewart remembered during a speech he gave about a year after the blast.

Stewart gave the speech at the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

Four investigations into what happened on April 5, 2010 point to poor ventilation, poor rock dusting, and a corporate culture with a disregard for mine safety.

Then-owner Massey Energy’s investigation came to a different conclusion. The film called “Upper Big Branch: Never Again” was released earlier this week and makes a case for the company’s stance on what caused the explosion.

Mine safety professors from the University of Utah join Senator Manchin to say they were misrepresented in the film “Upper Big Branch: Never Again.” The film was paid for by former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship who claims it “looks at what really happened at the Upper Big Branch mine disaster” that killed 29 miners in 2010.

Manchin sent a letter demanding the documentary be removed along with all references to the Senator. Manchin told West Virginia Public Radio that he is angry and was lied to.

Manchin, says the company Blankenship hired to make the documentary, Androit Films, lied to his face when they approached him for an interview to talk about mine safety. He said they made no mention of the film’s ties to Blankenship. Manchin says he would have never agreed to be affiliated with a project backed by Blankenship.

Dr. Tom Hethmon, responded to reporters to say in part …

“My colleagues and I at the University of Utah's Center for Mining Safety and Health Excellence are outraged by the apparent manipulation of our interviews in this film. As a condition of our participation in the film, the filmmakers promised us that the documentary for which we were interviewed was about the advancement of mine safety standards in this country, and that Don Blankenship had no involvement, financial or otherwise, in the film's production”

In the documentary Blankenship, in part, blames MSHA for the approving the poor the ventilation system used at the mine at the time of the explosion.

“It’s other things like changing the way things need to be done underground, reducing ventilation, turning off miner’s scrubbers, creating an environment that’s unsafe for the miners and the government is doing that partially out of ignorance and partially out of the power that they have,” former CEO Don Blankenship said earlier this week on MSNBC.

MSHA conducted an internal investigation after UBB and admitted to shortcomings. MSHA released a statement about those shortcomings in March 2012. Some included misuse of examination books, lack of experience, lack of training, “not identify significant deficiencies in the operator’s ventilation and roof control plans” and more.

In January the federal watchdog released a statement touting 100 regulatory and administrative changes since UBB.

Blankenship implies that Massey’s investigation has been mostly ignored because of his reputation.

Blankenship has been politically outspoken in West Virginia and does not believe that climate change is man-made. Blankenship again from MSNBC.

“The company did a very good job at the mine,” Blankenship said. “MSHA was at the mine every day and the explosion happened because of a natural gas inundation.”

Former UBB miners and survivors recalled a different atmosphere underground.

Massey’s report also disputes the role of rock dust in the explosion. Saying that the mine was adequately rock dusted. Rock dust is used to neutralize the combustibility of coal dust in the mine.

In a message last night, former UBB miner Goose Stewart backed the other reports saying while miners did rock dust, “the overall general rock dusting wasn’t adequate”.

Stewart also said a mine that size should’ve had at least two machine rock dusters working at all times. Stewart remembers one rock dusting machine that was consistently breaking. He said his section ‘did their best to keep it dusted (usually by hand, no machine),” he said.

United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts has also responded to the film, calling it “self-serving” on the part of Blankenship and “a feeble effort by one millionaire to stay out of jail.”

“The so-called documentary produced by Don Blankenship is little more than a rehash of thoroughly discredited theories as to what took place at the Upper Big Branch mine, said Roberts.”It flies in the face of the conclusions four independent reports, including those by federal and state agencies, on the 2010 explosion that claimed the lives of 29 miners.

Roberts went on to urge the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate “all the way up the corporate chain of command, and ensure that all those responsible for the tragedy of Upper Big Branch are held accountable.”

UBB victims' families furious over amusement park attraction

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 News quoted 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.

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.

Coal company blames previous owner for safety reputation

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.

McDowell mine gets second round of federal impact inspections

A mine in McDowell County is among several operations cited during impact inspections for safety violations last month. The federal Mine Safety and Health…

A mine in McDowell County is among several operations cited during impact inspections for safety violations last month. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration announced the results Thursday.

An impact inspection conducted at a JJ & E Coal Corporation’s mine in McDowell County resulted in: eight unwarrantable failure orders, one task training order, one imminent danger order and 36 citations.

While inspecting two conveyor belts, federal workers found accumulations of loose coal and coal fines up to 30 inches deep the entire length of the belts, which were 350 feet and 750 feet long.

These conditions at Horse Creek Mine No. 2 had been documented by the mine superintendent and mine manager during preshift/on-shift examinations every day for almost a week. Daily inspection records note that, since late July, each belt “needs additional cleaning, work in progress.” There was no evidence work had been done to clean these belts.

In a release MSHA chief Joe Main said these types of violations put workers in danger and would not be tolerated.

MSHA also cited the operator for violating roof support, ventilation, electrical and surface regulations. The mine was closed while the operator worked to implement a compliance plan and fix the cited issues.

Production was allowed to resume Aug. 13. This was the second impact inspection at this mine.

The monthly inspections are to monitor mines with poor compliance history such as high number of violations or closure orders; frequent hazard complaints or hotline calls and more. The impact inspection began in April 2010 following the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 men.

According to a release federal inspectors issued 213 citations, 23 orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections in August. Inspectors visited nine coal mines and five metal/nonmetal mines last month in addition to regular inspections.

Miners, know your rights

A mine safety law that’s been on the books since 1977 was intended to give miners the ability to report problems without retribution. This is a law that’s…

A mine safety law that’s been on the books since 1977 was intended to give miners the ability to report problems without retribution. This is a law that’s rarely been used and often when it has managers and not working miners serve as the representatives.

A number of issues were uncovered during congressional hearings after the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that killed 29 men. Statements from miners and family members of the miners who died indicated that mine employees had been reluctant to speak out about safety conditions in existence prior to the April 2010 explosion, fearing retaliation by management.

Former and current miners admitted they knew nothing about their right to elect a representative of miners either.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is hoping to raise more awareness with a handbook and online resource page called The Miners’ Representative Guide.

A miners’ representative is any person, group or organization designated by two or more miners to represent their interest during health and safety enforcement processes at their mine.

This includes managers and supervisors.

Longtime safety advocate Tony Oppegard pointed out during an interview in April 2012 that managers already have the right to travel with inspectors. He says congress needs to take the next step and insist MSHA make a policy managers can’t serve as miners’ reps.

“Because it defeats the entire purpose of the miners’ rep provision,” Oppegard said, “and frankly you don’t have management looking out for the safety of miners.”

Oppegard argues that electing managers as miner’s reps can prevent the law from working the way should.

Miners were given a right to elect a representative in 1977 when the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act was enacted.

The new MSHA guide provides detailed information about: reporting hazardous conditions and imminent dangers, accident investigations, understanding the elements of discrimination, health and safety training, rights to information and records and more.

In a news release MSHA says in 2012 it filed more than double the requests for temporary re-instatement on behalf of miners who submitted complaints of discrimination after being fired, than any previous year.