Coal Mine Explosion in WV

[LadyTevar]

The method is far less dangerous when the Proper Safety Procedure is followed.
All of the worst mining diasters, from Hawk's Nest to Monongah to Sago to UpperBranch, have been caused by Someone caring more about money than safety for the miners.

[Broomstick]

Let's hope that the shelter has a good safety measure and is good for another few days, and that these days will allow for a save rescue.

You didn't see the limit, 'Fina... The refuge had a 96-hr oxygen supply. That will run out at 3pm this afternoon, EDT.

If you take a look at your own second post at the top of the thread, the shelters are supposed to be stocked with enough food, water and air to last 32 people 96 hours. If there are only three miners there (assuming that based on the number of breathing gear that was not accounted for), they'll be good for 960 hours.

But the shelter will need to be powered for the air system to work. If there's only enough power for 96 hours... well, the won't die immediately, and not as fast as if the shelter was full, but....

Now, on top of everything else, a coal-seam fire that may never go out.

PLEASE let this not be another Centralia, Pennsylvania....

[LadyTevar]

Now, on top of everything else, a coal-seam fire that may never go out.

PLEASE let this not be another Centralia, Pennsylvania....

Seeping methane + coal seam + fire
I'm not sure if Methane burns in this case, or if it will set off another explosion. Back in the 1800s, a creek 'caught on fire' because of methane/natural gas bubbled up from it and burned for a few days. (The area is now called Burnt Creek, go figure) I have this image in my mind of gas-fed flames licking the coal seam as the coal glows and burns gently like a forge in use.

Either way, the first certificates of the 7 retrieved miners have started to trickle in. One was in my pile of morning mail.

[[R_H]]

Mine Operator Escaped Extra Oversight After Warning

The operator of the West Virginia mine that exploded on Monday, killing at least 25 people, was warned by federal officials just over two years ago that it could be cited for having a “pattern of violations,” which would have allowed far stricter federal oversight of the mine. But the mine escaped the stepped-up enforcement even though it continued to amass violations, federal records show.Search teams re-entered the Upper Big Branch mine early Friday to resume the search for four missing miners, news reports said. The searchers wore oxygen masks to guard against lethal gases that have stymied their efforts in recent days.

The mine, operated by the Massey Energy Company, was warned that it had a “potential pattern of violations” in a Dec. 6, 2007, letter from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The letter noted that the mine had received 204 violations that were deemed serious and significant over the previous two years, well above average.

But six months later, the safety agency announced that the Upper Big Branch mine, located in Montcoal, W.Va., and 19 others that were warned that December, had all instituted plans to fix their problems, and had received fewer violations. They all escaped the added oversight, which would have allowed the federal government to close down the mines every time they found a significant violation.

After the violations went down, they more than doubled the following year. Newly released federal inspection records show that the mine had recently been given warnings for accumulation of flammable coal dust and ventilation problems.

Since the start of 2009, the records show, the mine had at least 50 notices of problems that Massey knew existed but failed to correct. At least four of those concerned violations of a rule that requires the mine operator to follow an approved ventilation plan. Massey officials declined comment on the records.

Some mine experts said that the failure to declare a pattern of violations was a missed opportunity. Tony Oppegard, a former mine agency official who is now a lawyer and mine safety advocate in Kentucky, said that he believed the warning letters helped the coal industry avoid oversight.

Officials of the mine safety agency said that they were bound by the current regulations, which require them to issue warning letters, and that if companies successfully reduce their rate of violations by 30 percent, they are not to be found to have a pattern of violations. The officials added that before this week’s explosion they were considering tightening the regulations.

Companies can escape the added oversight even if they continue to be worse than the national average. The warning letter to the Upper Big Branch mine, for instance, said that the mine had been issued serious violations at a rate nearly twice the national average over the previous two years. Three months later the mine cut the rate to just above the national average, enough of a reduction to avoid being labeled a pattern of violations.

In a March 25, 2008, letter that found that a pattern of violations did not exist at the mine, the agency wrote “congratulations on your achievements.”

Even without establishing a pattern, though, the officials could still pull workers and machinery out of the mine if they found problems. The government issued 63 such “withdrawal” orders in 2009 and 2010, according to the safety agency.

In Washington, the White House said that President Obama would meet next week with Labor Department officials to discuss the cause of Monday’s explosion and efforts by the federal government to beef up mine safety enforcement.

On Thursday, emergency crews continued drilling holes more than 1,000 feet deep through rock and dirt to ventilate the mine of its noxious and explosive gases. Four teams of eight rescuers made it within 500 feet of an airtight shelter where state officials hoped some of the miners were, but they were pulled back after roughly five hours when monitors indicated dangerous levels of methane and carbon dioxide.

As some families held out hope that their loved ones were still alive, others have moved fully into the grieving process.

The funerals for at least five miners are scheduled for either Friday or Saturday. According to obituaries in The Beckley Register-Herald those miners are: Carl Calvin Acord, Robert Clark, Steve Harrah, Deward Scott and Benny R. Willingham. Massey officials said they would pay for those funerals, and for the services of the other miners who died in the explosion.

[Darth Wong]

It's strange that public anger is so muted when something like this comes out.

[LadyTevar]

They've finally given out more info on the Safety Refuge:

The refuge chamber is an expandable box activated by opening a door and pulling a lever. It takes about five minutes for the chamber to deploy, and crews using a camera or checking person should be able to see easily whether that happened, said Rory Paton-Ash, a spokesman for the manufacturer, Strata Safety.

"You would know very, very clearly if it had been deployed," he said.

Honestly, it was the worst time for a blast to happen. Govenor Manchin has stated that the 25 bodies found so far were all on mantrips, railed carts that carry miners through the mine. According to the rescuers, the men were 'just sitting on the mantrips', and none of them had respirators on. The blast and resulting bad air had caught those riding the mantrips by complete surprise.

There is a bit of good news -- one of the two miners hospitalized on Monday has been released. The other is in 'stable condition' at the hospital. They had been in the blast, but pulled out by the Medical First Responders to the scene. Hope for the last four, however, is getting dimmer.

[LadyTevar]

It's strange that public anger is so muted when something like this comes out.

Public anger is a sleeping dog, lulled by the anxiety over the missing 4. After we know their fates, after the last 14-18 bodies have been recovered and buried, THEN the outrage will wake with a roar.

Unless Blankenship buys it off again. After all, this mine will be closed; where will the miners find work? All of Massey's mines are non-union; there's no safety net for these men. Those that speak out too strongly might find they're not welcome at any other Massey-owned mine.
Welcome to WV, circa 1910.

[Serafina]

What the fuck kind of regulations are that?

Seriously..."warning letters"? "Patterns of violations"? Over 50 violations and no once could legally take action?
Yeez, it's not the fact that you are mining underground that is wrong with this system, it is simply that your safety regulations are shit.

[LadyTevar]

What the fuck kind of regulations are that?

Seriously..."warning letters"? "Patterns of violations"? Over 50 violations and no once could legally take action?
Yeez, it's not the fact that you are mining underground that is wrong with this system, it is simply that your safety regulations are shit.

Welcome to the Republican view of the EPA.
I'd have to go searching for the archive, but last year there was an article in the Gazette that stated bluntly one of the local EPA inspectors was "reassigned" because the Coal Owners asked the local head of the EPA to "put a chain on the little terrier". Said inspector was a stickler for safety rules -- I'd not be surprised if his name was on the majority of those 'work-stop' orders.

Remember -- Don Blankenship spent $3.5million to put his own Magistrate on the State Supreme Court, just before a big court case against Massey Energy. You can guess how that decision came down. Blankenship has lead the other Coal Owners in an all-out battle against anything that would come between them and Profit.

[MKSheppard]

According to the rescuers, the men were 'just sitting on the mantrips', and none of them had respirators on. The blast and resulting bad air had caught those riding the mantrips by complete surprise.

I did a decent amount of studying a while ago; and basically if you go into a confined space of any kind, EPA/OSHA regs say you should be wearing a respirator or supplemental O2 system.



And I certainly would consider a working coal mine past the first couple hundred feet of the main entrance shaft a confined space. I think there's just too much testosterone in the miners for them to even consider wearing their safety gear ahead of time.

These are the kind of dumbasses you see at any blue-collar jobsite, who refuse to wear any sort of safety gear or equipment.

"Double insulated tools? Why use those? I'll just never stick my tools near a live wire!"

[Darth Wong]

It's herd mentality. I've seen it many times in factories: guys snicker at you if you follow safety procedures to the letter. They're the herd, and they bolster each others' confidence, and they're also engaging in adolescent hierarchical jostling to see who's the most macho.

[Broomstick]

Among industries like coal mining, which even today are often family trades of sort, I think there is some resistance to modern safety equipment because it would stir up memories of past accidents that really could have been prevented, rather than being uncontrollable acts of God. The fatality and denial is part of what makes it possible for the men to go into such an environment day and after day for years on end. Having to admit that dad and your three older brothers could have lived had they done X, Y, and Z could be a hard pill to swallow.

I suspect many that do come to that conclusion are the ones that join the military to get out of the mines.

[Darth Wong]

It's worse than that. Blue-collar guys will actually disable idiot-proofing safety measures on machines. There was a fatal accident at a casting company called Accurcast in Wallaceburg Ontario in the 1990s where a guy had disabled the lockout sensor which prevented the machine from operating when the access door was open. This allowed him to run the machine while the door was open, which made it more convenient to reach in and put in new pieces or remove finished ones.

Guess what kind of machine it was: that's right, a hydraulic press. And guess what happened to our unfortunate operator: he was halfway inside the machine when the "Cycle Start" button somehow got pushed, and he got squished.

It's bad enough when they fail to employ proper safety procedures, but when they actually disable built-in safety measures, you just have to shake your head in dismay.

[MKSheppard]

The thing is, even when you print such fatality reports and distribute them around the jobsite or to everyone at the annual safety meeting; they'll just read them then toss them into the trash and think "this will never happen to me".

It really is a futile task at times. The best you can do is at least keep the fatality count from being too excessive.

[Serafina]

Among industries like coal mining, which even today are often family trades of sort, I think there is some resistance to modern safety equipment because it would stir up memories of past accidents that really could have been prevented, rather than being uncontrollable acts of God. The fatality and denial is part of what makes it possible for the men to go into such an environment day and after day for years on end. Having to admit that dad and your three older brothers could have lived had they done X, Y, and Z could be a hard pill to swallow.

I suspect many that do come to that conclusion are the ones that join the military to get out of the mines.

I agree with that, but we had better safety measures in german coal mining decades ago.
And while i can understand the employees to a certain degree (however dumb it may actually be), if their superiors do not keep an eye on it, it's just criminal.

[LadyTevar]

A fun thought: the Marsh Fork Elementary school is just downstreet of a coal slurry impoundment for the mine, similar to the Massey Corp site in Martin Co. Kentucky.

State inspectors have gone to the dam to make sure it's not been weakened by the explosion.

[Thanas]

I agree with that, but we had better safety measures in german coal mining decades ago.

Coal mining in Germany however was completely differently-run in Germany from the start. You can see it back in the 19th century when the Bergämter and the various Kommissionen made damn sure the state knew what was going on. Mines were strictly regulated to a degree back then that would make German mines look like Stalin's wet dream to many Americans of today.

A huge difference was also Bismarck's Unfallversicherung (accident insurance) of 1884. It was paid 100% by the employer. So you can see why there was a real incentive for German companies not to go the route of "Who cares, there are enough people".

So we have a financial incentive and strong state control over the mines which made sure regulations were enforced. Couple that with the ability of a worker to sue for damages and actually win without having to pay horrendous legal expenses, you have a completely different than what exists in the USA.

[LadyTevar]

And a couple late Updates:

UPDATE 2:37 p.m.

A drill hole that was supposed to enter the mine near the second rescue chamber hit a solid rock pillar, so rescue teams will be unable to lower a camera into it to see if the refuge chamber has been deployed, U.S. Mine Office official Kevin Stricklin said.

So, rescue teams are gearing up to go back into the mine at this time, he said.


UPDATE 2:44 p.m.

Teams are three-and-a-half to four hours from reaching the second rescue chamber, Stricklin said during an afternoon news conference.

It has been about 95 hours since the explosion. Each rescue chamber has enough oxygen and supplies to sustain 15 miners for 96 hours.

Teams pumped nitrogen into the mine to reduce the oxygen levels, which is believe to have smothered a fire that forced rescue teams out earlier this morning.

[eion]

But the shelter will need to be powered for the air system to work. If there's only enough power for 96 hours... well, the won't die immediately, and not as fast as if the shelter was full, but....

Most of the refuge chambers I've looked at are advertised as "power-free" or "powerless" systems, including the oxygen generators and CO2 scrubbers. So I imagine they run off oxygen candles and some kind of chemical CO2 filter. This means they would indeed have 960 hours of air for 3 miners.

If true this would hardly be surprising as it is good safety engineering. The last thing you’d want to happen is the batteries to be dead on your refuge chambers when you need them.

[Ekiqa]

It's worse than that. Blue-collar guys will actually disable idiot-proofing safety measures on machines.
...
It's bad enough when they fail to employ proper safety procedures, but when they actually disable built-in safety measures, you just have to shake your head in dismay.

Of course the only reason there are safety measures there in the first place is blue-collars. White collars would never spring for the added expense of safety equipment unless it was required by law.

[SirNitram]

The more I read about this mine, the more I'm convinced that it was a disaster in waiting.

Hopefully this will lead to a shift in the methods of mining in West Virginia -- currently only 38% of coal in WV is produced from surface mines; the rest is done underground, with all the dangers that entails.

As mentioned, surface mining while following the law is going to be violently changed. So I don't expect 'Don't do construction, just run coal' Blankenship to change. He'll just buy another judge.

[FSTargetDrone]

Not surprisingly, the four missing miners have been found dead:

4 missing W.Va. miners dead; final toll at 29

The Associated Press

Updated: 1:03 a.m. Saturday, April 10, 2010

Posted: 12:51 a.m. Saturday, April 10, 2010

Authorities say crews have found the bodies of four miners missing nearly a week since an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine, bringing the death toll to 29.

Gov. Joe Manchin said, "The journey has ended."

Officials say the mission now is to recover all 22 bodies still inside the Upper Big Branch mine 30 miles south of Charleston. Seven other bodies were recovered after the blast Monday and two other miners were injured.

The raised death toll makes it the worst coal mine disaster in the U.S. since 1970 when 38 were killed at Finley Coal Co. in Hyden, Ky.

Authorities said early Saturday that they will start bringing out the bodies so they can be identified.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MONTCOAL, W.Va. (AP) — Authorities say crews have found the bodies of four miners missing nearly a week since an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine, bringing the death toll to 29.

Gov. Joe Manchin said, "The journey has ended."

Officials say the mission now is to recover all 22 bodies still inside the Upper Big Branch mine 30 miles of Charleston. Seven other bodies were recovered after the blast Monday and two other miners were injured.

The raised death toll makes it the worst coal mine disaster in the U.S. since 1970 when 38 were killed at Finley Coal Co. in Hyden, Ky.

Authorities said early Saturday that they will start bringing out the bodies so they can be identified.

[The Romulan Republic]

It's tragic, but, as noted, not unexpected. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.

Also, given the numerous safety violations at this place, hopefully this will be enough to bring the Law down on someone hard.

[LadyTevar]

April 9, 2010
Last four Upper Big Branch miners found dead
Death toll rises to 29; worst U.S. mine disaster in 40 years


MONTCOAL, W.Va. -- Four miners unaccounted for since a massive underground explosion Monday were found dead early this morning, pushing the death toll at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine to 29 and making it the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in 40 years.

Gov. Joe Manchin announced the grim findings at a news conference at Raleigh County's Marsh Fork Elementary School, where news media from around the world have camped out since Monday to chronicle a desperate, 100-hour rescue effort.

"We did not receive the miracle we prayed for," Manchin said at about 12:30 a.m. "So this journey has ended and now the healing will start."

The governor said miners had not deployed any of the rescue chambers in the mine, and that none of the workers had a chance to use their emergency breathing devices.



"We remained hopeful the four missing miners would have been found alive," Massey CEO Don Blankenship said in a statement issued just after Manchin's announcement. "I personally met with many of the families throughout the week and share their grief at this very painful time."

Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said of the miners' families, "Their loved ones are now smiling down upon them, and we all know they are in a better place and did not suffer."

Kevin Stricklin, administrator for coal at the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, said mine rescue crews would immediately begin recovering the miners' bodies and that MSHA would then turn its attention to investigating the disaster.

"I can assure you that no stone will be left unturned," Stricklin said. "We will find the cause of it."

As the news sunk in, several of the teachers and staff from Marsh Fork Elementary who had come to help the media stationed at the school, began weeping silently. Tammy Gobble hugged Sheri McGraw of the Red Cross and sobbed, her shoulders shaking.

Manchin said that the families wanted to wait until their loved ones had been removed from the mine, but the governor explained to them that it would take some time. He assured them that the fallen miners would be treated with dignity.

"Naturally, they wanted to wait and take their loved ones home with them," said the governor, who lost an uncle in the 1968 Farmington disaster.

Rescue teams had scoured the Upper Big Branch Mine on Friday in a fourth, last-ditch effort to find the four miners, in the hopes they had somehow made their way to an airtight rescue chamber stocked with food, water and breathable air.

Two other miners were injured in the explosion. One of them has been released from a local hospital, while the other remains in intensive care in Charleston. No information on his condition has been released.

A complete list of the victims and the injured has not been made public, and Manchin and Rahall urged the media to respect the privacy of the families in the days ahead.

The 29 deaths in the Upper Big Branch explosion are the most in a U.S. mine disaster since 38 perished in a coal-dust blast on Dec. 30, 1970, at Finley Coal's No. 15 and No. 16 mines on Hurricane Creek near Hyden, Ky.

It is the West Virginia coal industry's worst workplace disaster since 78 miners died in the November 1968 Farmington explosion. In February 1972, 125 residents of Buffalo Creek in Logan County died when a coal slurry dam there collapsed and flooded their hollow.

All week, mine safety advocates and political leaders have promised detailed investigations and said they would re-examine mine safety laws and enforcement practices in the wake of the disaster.

"It is infuriating that in this day and age, and in this country, that such a disaster could still happen," Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said in a statement Friday. "I am sick. I am saddened, and I am angry."

In brief remarks delivered in the White House Rose Garden, President Obama said Friday afternoon that "it's clear that more needs to be done" on the issue.

Obama has ordered Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and MSHA chief Joe Main to provide him a report by next week on their preliminary findings on "what went wrong and why it went wrong so badly, so that we can take the steps necessary to prevent such accidents in the future."

When asked if there would be public hearings as part of the disaster investigation, Manchin said, "I would assume so. We want to dovetail them with the federal [hearings].

"We want to work with the federal government," the governor said. "We want to work with Congress."

This week's disaster comes four years after a dozen miners died in an explosion at International Coal Group's Sago Mine in Upshur County, the first in a series of major mining accidents that claimed 28 lives in 2006 and 2007.

After years of improvements in coal-mine safety, Bush administration budget cuts and a focus away from tough enforcement eroded MSHA's policing of the industry. The rising death toll prompted lawmakers to pass the 2006 MINER Act, the first major reforms in safety standards in 30 years.

Unsuccessful rescue efforts at Upper Big Branch were made all the more heartbreaking because the 2006 law focused on faster emergency response and new technologies meant to help miners survive and escape from explosions and fires.

[The Yosemite Bear]

but all the laws and safety equipment won't do any good if your employer uses the courts to get away with just co-operating on the face of things, and not really, while maintaining active dis-information campaigns about safety and other legal things. Don't ask, don't do anything or you and your family will starve. Welcome to the 19th century, still alive and well in the USA.