Page 2 - Mine Operator News Today

Branch mine were neither excessive in number, nor particularly significant. people may be wondering why this mine was even operating. >> i think the reason it was operating is that all the people who are very knowledgeable of mining whether they be with the federal government, the state golf or massey had concluded that the mine was safe to operate and these violations and the efforts on the ventilation are efforts to improve it. >> reporter: but the man in charge of keeping americas coal mines ...

Up their acts, but the number of citations and the significance, it gave the indication that the mine operator would have been better suited to comply rather than us fining them. >> reporter: its an emotional issue, saved is a huge concern, but massey mines provide thousands of fences. roan wootan is the west virginia state mining director. >> reporter: are they a good operator or bad operator, in your estimation? >> i dont have an opinion. ive seen them do good things, some things not so good. ...

Within 500 feet of place they believe these missing miners might have bunkered down if they were able to survive this blast, thats considered unlikely, and time is running out today, because if they were in that shelter area, oxygen would be running out. meanwhile, nbc news has learned this upper big branch mine has been cited a startling number of times in the last decade. this information hasnt been made public yet but has been provided to lawmakers who are learning this mine was cited 61 time...

Tells us we have to do it via the citation. the 1977 act says the first line of defense for miner safety is the mine operator. its very clear about that. this is obviously being ignored by these non-union operations. we have to change -- >> it appears to me this is going to be a defining -- this is going to be a defining moment in mining history in this country. i mean, weve got a president that wants to do something about it. a congress that can do something about it. and a motivated public tha...

So high. and the man hours were not that much difference that the employees worked so there is a question there as to the interest and the attention that that operator is paying to safety. >> and so when you look at them, some of them are minor infractions, but other citations are for more serious offenses, vept la ventilation issues, anything that jumped out at you that when you look at that, you see a ticking bomb? >> well, what grabs my attention very quickly is that over the past couple of y...

>> and you cant end up in jail, but when you have a serious offense, when the ventilation is not working they can issue a withdrawal order. we saw that. theyve issued four withdrawal orders at this mine since january. msha has been using enforcement tools. as far as shutting the mine under a temporary bases, msha does not have that power. what theyve done is tried to shut down two mines recently because the mine operators havent paid civil penalties at all, but if -- but the mine operator has to...

National average is 2%. according to the mine safety and health administration within the last 15 months, two types of violations came up again and again, coal dust accumulation and inadequate ventilation, conditions that could lead to a massive explosion. the massey company declined to respond to cnns questions about its safety violations. instead, directing us to a statement it issued after the explosion. quote, our top priority is the safety of our miners and the well-being of their families....

This mine was even operating. >> the reason it was operating is all of the people who were very knowledgeable, whether it be at the federal government, the state government or massey had concluded that the mine was safe to operate and these violations and the efforts on the ventilation are efforts to improve it. >> but the man in charge of keeping americas coal mines and coal miners safe, kevin struckland doesnt see much room for argument. >> is it your sense, kevin, that this is a mine that nee...

Are going to live here, you will probably end up working in the mine. >> shepard: the danger a fact of life for folks like him and all of them. james rosen continues our team fox coverage from washington. tell us more about the safety record of this particular company, james. >> well, you know, shep, its not just poor safety compliance. its also poor government enforcement that is plaguing mining in america. massey claims its rate fell to all time low and safety record last year was stronger tha...

Youre asking if i had the ability to shut a mine down based on what i find and the answer to that is no. once a mine operator corrects the condition and makes it safe again, i cant allow, or i cant allow my inspector to say you keep that mine shut down. when the condition is corrected, theyre allowed to go back to mining. >> kevin, how would you characterize the record of this mine? >> i havent looked at it as closely as i think a lot of other folks have. weve been dealing with the rescue operat...