Concentrated Essence Of Duh From The WV Gazette - "Stalling On Mine Safety Kills Workers"
Out-of-state owners who control West Virginia coal mines often stall safety enforcement orders through a delaying tactic: When inspectors find dangerous violations and issue citations, owners file appeals that keep the charges in limbo.
This sort of delay may have occurred at Patriot Coal’s Brody No. 1 mine in Boone County, where two miners were killed Monday night.
Ed. - NO!!
Last fall, as environmental reporter Ken Ward Jr. outlined, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration cited the Brody mine for a “pattern of violations” — an ominous finding that kicks a mine into a tougher enforcement bracket. MSHA said 253 “significant and substantial” safety offenses had been found at Brody during the past year, and some mine injuries hadn’t been reported.
But Patriot Coal, based in St. Louis, vowed to challenge the POV declaration, saying it had acquired the Brody mine only 10 months before and shouldn’t be blamed for violations that occurred under previous owners. A hearing on Patriot’s appeal is set for May 22. Patriot said it filed a “compliance improvement plan” to end safety violations. But in the past year, 30 more injuries happened at the Boone mine under Patriot’s supervision, and four miners reported suffering from black lung.
EDIT
http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140514/ARTICLE/140519746/1131
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