April 21, 2010
Mine Widows Request Public Hearing by Federal Regulators
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Charleston, WV (HNN) – Two widows suing following the deaths of 29 miners at Upper Big Branch have asked the U.S. Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) to hold a public hearing. Attorneys for Marlene Griffith and Tammy Morgan forwarded the request to Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
MSHA had not responded to the request by late Tuesday evening, April 20 -- based on their website.
These requests came during court proceedings in Boone County, WV. Both women have sued Performance Coal and its parent Massey Energy. The court has ordered portions of the mine preserved as well as records and evidence.
The wrongful death suit alleges the company had a history of safety violations , which amount to negligence. MSHA has on its website tentatively ruled that the deaths came from “ignition or explosion of gas or dust.”
An independent team of occupational safety experts have been asked to examine the process and outcome of MSHA review of the explosion. According to Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, will appoint a team to review MSHA’s findings.
Both the MSHA internal review and the independent analysis of the review will be made public to “assure transparency and accountability.”
Meanwhile, members of the West Virginia Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety have made proposals for regulatory changes in response to the nation’s worst coal mine tragedy in 40 years. Some of the rule alterations would impact mine rescue, ventilation of coal conveyer belts, as well as adding barometers at all mines (falling pressure can release more methane gas), placing stricter limits on rock dust, and increasing methane detection maintenance procedures.
Massey Energy’s board of directors has also pledged to make a thorough investigation of the mine.
Investigators have not yet entered the mine for investigatory purposes, since it has to be free of dangerous levels of gas.
A public memorial service for the 29 miners killed and two injured in the disaster will be Sunday, April 25 at 3:30 p.m. at the Beckley Raleigh County Convention Center. WV Gov. Joe Manchin and First Lady Gayle Manchin will host the service. President Barack Obama will deliver the eulogy. Vice President Joe Biden will also attend.
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Mine Widows Request Public Hearing by Federal Regulators
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Charleston, WV (HNN) – Two widows suing following the deaths of 29 miners at Upper Big Branch have asked the U.S. Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) to hold a public hearing. Attorneys for Marlene Griffith and Tammy Morgan forwarded the request to Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
MSHA had not responded to the request by late Tuesday evening, April 20 -- based on their website.
These requests came during court proceedings in Boone County, WV. Both women have sued Performance Coal and its parent Massey Energy. The court has ordered portions of the mine preserved as well as records and evidence.
The wrongful death suit alleges the company had a history of safety violations , which amount to negligence. MSHA has on its website tentatively ruled that the deaths came from “ignition or explosion of gas or dust.”
An independent team of occupational safety experts have been asked to examine the process and outcome of MSHA review of the explosion. According to Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, will appoint a team to review MSHA’s findings.
Both the MSHA internal review and the independent analysis of the review will be made public to “assure transparency and accountability.”
Meanwhile, members of the West Virginia Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety have made proposals for regulatory changes in response to the nation’s worst coal mine tragedy in 40 years. Some of the rule alterations would impact mine rescue, ventilation of coal conveyer belts, as well as adding barometers at all mines (falling pressure can release more methane gas), placing stricter limits on rock dust, and increasing methane detection maintenance procedures.
Massey Energy’s board of directors has also pledged to make a thorough investigation of the mine.
Investigators have not yet entered the mine for investigatory purposes, since it has to be free of dangerous levels of gas.
A public memorial service for the 29 miners killed and two injured in the disaster will be Sunday, April 25 at 3:30 p.m. at the Beckley Raleigh County Convention Center. WV Gov. Joe Manchin and First Lady Gayle Manchin will host the service. President Barack Obama will deliver the eulogy. Vice President Joe Biden will also attend.
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