The Charleston Gazette - Beyond Sago

More mine rescue reforms needed, report says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:21:12 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal regulators should revisit and potentially strengthen their requirements for coal operators to provide emergency breathing devices for miners to use in escapes from underground mine fires or explosions, a new National Academy of...

Court ruling clears way for Aracoma widows suit against MSHA

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:05:23 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The state Supreme Court on Tuesday paved the way for the widows of two miners killed in the 2006 Aracoma Mine fire to pursue their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor over lax enforcement of federal mine safety standards...

Coal plant workers to get medical testing from settlement

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:29:55 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Nearly 25,000 current and former coal preparation plant workers would receive medical testing to detect diseases potentially linked to toxic chemical exposure under the proposed settlement of a decade-old court ba...

W.Va. led nation in 2012 mining deaths

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:02:41 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia led the nation in 2012 with seven coal-mining deaths, according to preliminary figures from the U.S. Department of Labors Mine Safety and Health Administration. The fatality count for 2012 was one more than the six West...

W.Va. led nation in 2012 mining deaths

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:17:56 -0500

Mine safety absent from presidential campaigns coal debate

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 18:30:10 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney tours the coalfields in the swing states of Ohio and Virginia, he promises to reverse Obama administration environmental regulations the industry says are costing miners their jobs. ...

Court hears Aracoma widows case against MSHA

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:52:30 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The two widows from Massey Energys Aracoma Mine fire asked the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to pave the way for their lawsuit against the federal agency charged with enforcing coal-mine safety rules. ...

MSHA case sent to W.Va. Supreme Court

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:00:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal appeals court has asked West Virginias Supreme Court to decide a key issue in a case in which widows of the 2006 Aracoma Mine fire are suing the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. On Tuesday, the 4th U.S. Circuit ...

GOP budget move stalls black lung plan

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Across the Appalachian coalfields these days, its hard to go anywhere without hearing about what mining lobbyists and political leaders call the Obama administrations "war on coal." Radio ads blare the message of los...

The new face of black lung

chamby@publicintegrity.org (Chris Hamby) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 23:45:00 -0400

Graphic: Black lung by the numbers
Read more: GOP budget move stalls black lung plan PRESTONSBURG, Ky. -- Donald Marcum knew he was at least a passive participant in something that was against the rules, maybe even criminal. Every couple of ...

Dust reforms stalled by years of inaction

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 23:45:00 -0400

Read more: The new face of black lung
Miners say UBB mine cheated on dust sa...

Miners say UBB mine cheated on dust sampling

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 23:45:00 -0400

Judge OKs black lung fraud suit against Jackson Kelly

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:47:39 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The families of three deceased coal miners may pursue lawsuits that allege the Jackson Kelly law firm wrongly concealed evidence that those miners had black lung disease, a Raleigh County judge has ruled. Circuit Judge Harry L. Ki...

MSHA employees hurt more often than miners, lawmaker says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Employees of the federal government charged with enforcing mine safety laws are more likely to be injured on the job than workers in the mining industry, according to a Republican lawmaker who wants an explanation from the Obama ...

Agencies quickly replacing inspectors breathing units

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:49:14 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal and state regulatory agencies are moving quickly to replace potentially defective emergency breathing devices used by coal-mine safety inspectors. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration bought 300 new self-contained, se...

Defective mine breathing devices being phased out

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:00:00 -0400

Read more: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/ CHARLESTON, W.Va. ...

Breathing devices fail test, but not ordered out of mines

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:13:17 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal coal mine regulators have concluded that a widely used emergency breathing device doesnt meet safety standards but have not yet taken any action to get the equipment out of the nations mines. This week, the National ...

Obama to cut MSHA budget, focus on enforcement

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:54:29 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration on Monday proposed a slight cut in its budget for the U.S. Department of Labors mine safety efforts, but said it plans to focus limited resources on safety and health enforcement. In its proposal for the 2013 f...

Tomblin offers mixed package of mine safety reforms

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:38:45 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin promised Wednesday night to seek more state mine safety improvements, but his list of proposals fell short of what independent investigators have said is needed to truly reform West Virginias mini...

21 U.S. coal miners killed in 2011, MSHA says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:34:07 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Twenty-one U.S. coal miners died on the job in 2011, the second lowest number in more than a century of record-keeping, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Thursday. The lowest number was 18 in 200...

Spending bill delays effort to end black lung

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A government spending package agreed to this week by the Obama administration and Congress contains language aimed at blocking -- or at least delaying -- new limits on coal dust aimed at ending deadly black lung disease. The measu...

MSHA not catching scofflaw violators, report says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:15:00 -0500

Read the report : http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo CHARLESTON, W.Va...

Final Sago Mine disaster lawsuits settled

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:18:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Nearly six years after the Sago Mine disaster, the remaining wrongful-death lawsuits filed by families of the miners who died have been resolved, according to court records filed Friday. Lawyers for families of six of the miners filed...

MSHA urged to broaden warning device rules

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:32:35 -0400

Read more in Coal Tattoo. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration should expand its proposed rule to require mine operators to equip mining machines with devices meant to pr...

State, feds delayed action on mine shelters

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Concerns about potentially faulty underground mine refuge shelters are much broader than previously reported, but federal and state regulators delayed action on the matter for months, interviews and a review of public records showed t...

W.Va. orders miner rescue tent inspections

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:54:03 -0400

Read the order here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State mine safety officials late Friday ordered emergency inspections of up to 500 rescue shelters in West Virginias underground coal mines, citing ...

MSHA audits find coal injuries underreported

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:26:17 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Half of the coal mines examined in an audit by federal investigators violated rules that require companies to report accidents and worker injuries, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Heal...

MSHA audits find coal injuries underreported

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:19:42 -0400

MSHA delays proximity detection rule

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:06:21 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration announced plans Monday to further delay a requirement for underground coal-mine operators to equip mining machines with devices meant to protect miners from being run over or crushed by those machines. U.S. ...

Mine breathing devices to be phased out

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal regulators are working on a plan to phase out the most commonly used emergency breathing device in the coal-mining industry, but have no timeline for getting hundreds of potentially faulty units out of the mines. U.S. Mine...

Suit by respirator maker blames black lung on Massey

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:28:58 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Lawyers for one of the nations largest makers of respirators have opened a new legal front in a longstanding dispute over black lung disease: a suit seeking to hold the former Massey Energy responsible for illnesses that miners...

Deadline arrives for mine communications equipment

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:31:19 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The long-awaited deadline has arrived to improve safety in the nations 540 underground coal mines by adding technology capable of tracking miners and communicating with them after a disaster. Whether the mandate will immediate...

Study finds union mines safer

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 26 May 2011 18:31:40 -0400

Read the study online.CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Union coal mines are significantly safer than non-union mining operations, according to a new report from a Stanford University law professo...

Coal industry seeks voluntary safety plans

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:01:31 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A year after the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster since 1970, the mining industry on Wednesday launched a campaign for a program that could allow companies with good safety records to avoid regular mandatory inspections. The National M...

Internal audits detail MSHAs failings

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:42:49 -0400

Read more here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal mine safety inspectors did not conduct adequate reviews of coal-mining operations and failed to step up enforcement actions against mines tha...

Black lung still killing miners, study says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia coal miners continue to die from black lung, despite working under coal dust levels that are currently legal, according to a soon-to-be-published study by researchers at West Virginia University. The study adds to the ar...

MSHA: 64 pct of mines lack required communications

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - U.S. coal mine operators fall well short of meeting a 5-year-old congressional mandate to equip underground mines by June with high-tech communication and tracking systems for miners, a federal official told industry repres...

Coal CEO, UMW head say industry should eliminate all injuries

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:37:50 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Coal operators need to make their priority eliminating all workplace deaths and injuries, the president of the United Mine Workers union and one major coal producer agreed Friday. UMW President Cecil Roberts and Patriot Coal CEO Richa...

McAteer: Coal mine disasters not inevitable

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:34:04 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The U.S. coal industry needs to adopt more effective dust-control measures and comprehensive monitoring for explosive gases to avoid disasters like the one that killed 29 miners a year ago at Massey Energys Upper Big Branch Mine, an in...

UBB disaster anniversary renews calls for reform

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:38:23 -0400

Read more here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Advocates of tougher federal mine safety laws renewed their calls for reform Tuesday, as communities in the coalfields of West Virginia ma...

Taking Big Coal to task is difficult

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- On Jan. 14, 2009, officials from Aracoma Coal Co. pleaded guilty to 10 mine safety crimes. Prosecutors uncovered the violations during their investigation of a January 2006 fire at Aracomas Alma No. 1 Mine in Logan County. Deloric...

MSHA never hit Upper Big Branch with major fines

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Despite escalating safety concerns prior to the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, federal regulators never hit the Massey Energy operation with one of their toughest tools: fines of up to $220,000 each for "flagrant" safety v...

Miners admit lying about licenses

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:36:57 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Three West Virginia men have admitted that they lied about having foremens licenses when they conducted hundreds of mine safety checks in Mason, Nicholas and Wyoming counties. Chad J. Ferrell of Nettie and Luke W. Pugh of Jane Lew ple...

House GOP: MSHA failed to enforce existing laws

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:58:17 -0500

See Thursdays Gazette story here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- House Republicans pressed federal mine safety chief Joe Main for answers Thursday about a series of audits that reve...

Report details MSHA lapses prior to disaster

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:54:03 -0500

Read the report here.CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal mine safety regulators quietly warned lawmakers just two weeks before the Upper Big Branch M...

MSHA touts aggressive regulatory agenda

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:50:02 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The nations top mine safety official on Wednesday touted an aggressive agenda of tougher new regulations and said the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration would not be deterred by the failure of reform legislation last year or by...

MSHA settles unprecedented suit against Massey

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:14:12 -0500

Click here to read the settlement.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal mine safety regulators reached an 11th-hour settlement Wednesday with Massey Energy that ends what the Obama admin...

Criminal probe continues at Federal No. 2 Mine

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal authorities expect to continue working into early next year on a criminal probe at Patriot Coals Federal No. 2 Mine, a Monongalia County operation once praised by regulators, labor and management as a model coal mine. One forme...

UBB widow: I just knew

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 23:45:00 -0500

Read previous Gazette-Mail stories on the mine disaster here.
BECKLEY, W.Va. -- Joel Price never took time off. But he had worked the previous Christmas and Thanksgiving, so he figur...