West Virginia on My Mine

The explosion that occurred last Monday at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W. Va., stands as the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in the past 40 years. At least 25 miners are believed dead, with several more missing within the rubble.

The explosion is believed to have resulted from the ignition of methane gas that built up within the shafts. Though numerous safety regulations exist to prevent this kind of accident, Massey Energy Co., which operates the mine, has a track record of paying them lip service.

The company has been cited numerous times for violations of safety protocols and has worked hard to avoid doing any more work than is necessary to enforce them.

When asked about the disaster, Don L. Blankenship, the CEO of Massey Energy, responded that “violations are unfortunately a normal part of the mining process. There are violations at every coal mine in America and UBB was a mine that had violations.”

As true as this statement might be, most violations do not lead to the 25 dead men. A flippant attitude from the employer who sent them there in the first place is a slap in the face to these miners and their families.

In fact, safety violations have caused evacuations of various portions of this mine 64 times since the beginning of 2009. A similar mine in Utah, Deer Creek, has been cited for only one serious violation in the past 15 years.

Whether this tragedy could have been avoided by enforcing safety regulations more strictly remains a subject for debate, but the cavalier manner in which Blankenship regards the disaster is representative of his entire stance on mining.

Of the 50 citations it received last year for safety violations, Massey has appealed at least 37.

Blankenship has personally contributed millions of dollars to political campaigns for judges who have later ruled in his favor.

Blankenship should stand up and take some responsibility. If he has time to appeal his company’s citations in court, he has time to fix the underlying causes. Those safety laws exist for a reason, and his flagrant disregard for them has caused the needless deaths of 25 people. The blood of these men is on his hands.

Keeping up with safety laws may be expensive for Massey Energy, but the deaths of hardworking men is a cost our society cannot afford.