Upper Big Branch mine to be permanently sealed
Source: CNN
The Upper Big Branch coal mine, where 29 people were killed in a blast two years ago Thursday, will be permanently sealed by the summer.
Crews will seal with concrete the portals that allow entry to the mine, plug boreholes and cap mine fan shafts, said the mine's new owners Alpha Natural Resources.
"Though two years have passed, everyone still has vivid memories of the tragedy and the suffering the miners' families endured," said company Chief Executive Officer Kevin Crutchfield. "For all of us in the mining industry, it is a solemn reminder of why we must always put safety first in everything we do at work and at home."
The explosion at the West Virginia mine on April 5, 2010, was the deadliest U.S. mine disaster since 1972, when 91 men died in a fire at the Sunshine Mine in Kellogg, Idaho.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/05/us/west-virginia-mine-disaster/index.html
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I remember hearing this from Randi Rhodes before she left Air America Radio about the "Hillary is a..." comment. She informed me all about the owner and that Massie Energy was/is one of the only non-union coal mines and for that reason the management ignored workers safety measures telling them- you move coal or you're fired.
... or was there an earlier disaster at Upper Big Branch that i'm confusing this with?
