Rescuers Still Unable to Return to Mine Because of Toxic Gases

Bloomberg

(To locate the mine, see {BMAP 29583 })

By Chris Stratton and Mario Parker

April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Rescue teams were unable to resume their efforts to find four missing workers at a Massey Energy Co. mine in West Virginia because conditions in the mine were still potentially explosive, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin said at the news conference tonight.

The level of toxic gases in the air has fallen to 4.7 percent from more than 5 percent, though rescuers won’t be able to return until it’s less than 4.5 percent, Manchin said. The April 5 explosion that killed 25 miners was “a horrific blast,” the governor said. The families of the miners are “the toughest people in the world,” he said. “They can handle anything.”

Massey, the largest coal producer in the region, was cited by federal regulators for safety violations on the day of the blast, which caused the worst death toll for a U.S. coal mine in 26 years. Rising concentrations of methane and carbon monoxide forced rescuers to abandon their efforts earlier in the day.

The accident at Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine was the worst since a fire killed 27 workers at the Wilberg complex in Utah in 1984, according to the U.S. Mine Rescue Association. Should the trapped miners die, the toll would be the highest since 1970, when an explosion killed 38 miners in Kentucky.

President Barack Obama today asked federal investigators to provide an initial assessment of the cause of the explosion. He’ll meet with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Mine Safety and Health Administrator Joseph Main to discuss the safety record at the mine and steps that can be taken to reduce danger.

Safety Officials

“The president has tasked federal mine safety officials to report next week on their initial assessment of the cause of the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in more than a quarter century and what actions could prevent further tragedies in this industry,” the White House said in a statement.

Manchin said earlier he plans to ask J. Davitt McAteer, a former director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, to lead an investigation into the explosion and to help coordinate the work of state and federal investigators.

Massey has four drilling rigs at the operation. The bore holes must be about 1,100 feet (335 meters) deep to exhume the gas so the group can resume the search, Chris Adkins, Massey’s chief operating officer, said earlier at a news conference.

Rescuers hope to have a drill hole finished by midnight to drop a camera into the mine to see if a rescue chamber in the mine has deployed for the trapped workers, the governor said.

Federal Fines

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued more than $900,000 in fines for the operation in the past year, according to federal data compiled by Bloomberg. Massey is appealing more than $250,000 of the largest fines, among them one in January for ventilation systems that are supposed to prevent the buildup of methane gas and coal dust that can cause explosions.

On the day of the accident, Upper Big Branch was cited for having wires exposed and for having an outdated emergency escape map. The company’s negligence for both of the violations were deemed “moderate,” according to a MSHA document.

“Mine safety laws and regulations have progressed to the point where, when followed and properly enforced, they should prevent disasters like this one at Upper Big Branch from happening,” United Mine Workers of America International Cecil Roberts said today in a statement.

Massey rose 92 cents, or 2 percent, to $46.14 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the first gain since the accident occurred. The shares have gained 9.8 percent this year.

--With assistance from Brian K. Sullivan in Montcoal, West Virginia, Christopher Martin in New York and Nicholas Johnston in Washington. Editors: Dan Stets, Jane Lee.

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