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Upper Big Branch Mine disasterFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from 2010 Massey Energy Disaster)
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Coordinates: 37°56′14″N 81°32′37″W / 37.937256°N 81.543572°W / 37.937256; -81.543572
Contents [hide]
1 Explosion
2 Rescue and recovery mission
3 Investigation
4 Safety violations and fatalities
5 Interactive Memorial
6 Public reactions
7 In popular culture
7.1 Music
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 about 1,000 feet (300 m) underground at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine at Montcoal in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed.[1] The explosion occurred at 3:27 pm.[2] The accident was the worst in the United States since 1970, when 38 miners were killed at Finley Coal Company's No. 15 and 16 mines in Hyden, Kentucky.[3][4][5]
[edit] ExplosionThe explosion occurred at 3:27 PM local time (19:27 UTC) on Monday, April 5, 2010, at the Upper Big Branch South Mine near the community of Montcoal, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Charleston. The mine is operated by the Performance Coal Company, a subsidiary of Massey Energy.[2] High methane levels were detected and subsequently an explosion from an unknown source occurred. Twenty-five men were initially identified as killed.[6] Four days later, the four missing men were found dead for a total of 29 deaths.[7][8] While the investigation is still ongoing, officials have speculated that it may have been caused by a spark from a mantrip.[9]
[edit] Rescue and recovery missionEmergency crews initially gathered at the one of the portals for the Upper Big Branch Mine in Birchton, West Virginia, about 2 miles north of Montcoal and 3 miles south of Whitesville on Route 3 (on the west side of the road).[10] Kevin Stricklin, an administrator with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), stated 25 were reported dead and 4 unaccounted for. There are four boreholes to the mine; rescuers said they must drill 1,200 feet (370 m) through one of them to reach the affected area where survivors were located. Officials stated that there are two rescue chambers – ventilated rooms with basic supplies for survival – in the mine. On April 6, 2010, at 2:00 a.m., high levels of methane and carbon monoxide were detected forcing the team of rescuers to higher ground, further delaying the search. [11]
By Wednesday April 7, 11 bodies had been recovered while 14 still had not.[11] Although there were no indications that the four missing miners were still alive, the operations continued in rescue mode, rather than moving to recovery. Governor Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said, "Everyone is holding on to the hope that is their father, their son."[12] On the morning of April 8, 2010 the rescue efforts were suspended due to dangerous levels of methane in the mine.[13] Smoke in the mine, still present on April 9, indicated that there was an active fire in the mine making conditions hazardous for rescuers. Rescue attempts were set to resume later that day.[14]
According to an Associated Press story[15] the two safety chambers in the mine are inflatable units made by Strata Safety Products with air, water, sanitary facilities, and food sufficient to support more than a dozen miners for about four days; they could possibly support four miners for longer than 96 hours, though only if any miners managed to reach a chamber after the blast. [16].
Late on April 9, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin announced that the bodies of the 4 miners had been found, bringing the death toll to 29. The miners had not made it to either of the safety chambers. Conditions were so bad in the mine that rescuers who were in the mine on the first day of rescue unknowingly walked past the bodies of the four miners.[17]
[edit] InvestigationDue to the large concentration of toxic gasses in the mine, MSHA investigators had to wait for over two months to enter the mine for investigation.[18] Investigators were able to enter the mine on July 2, 2010.[19]
Investigative teams from MSHA and the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training, after extensively exploring the mine in order to make sure that it was safe for investigators to enter, began their probe into the causes of the disaster on June 28, 2010. Multiple teams will work inside the mine, each team having a different area of expertise. Currently, three teams from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, the State of West Virginia, and Massey Energy are working together to determine the cause of the explosion and assess the best way to make the mine safe to reopen.[20] The investigation is moving slowly due to problems such as debris, standing water, and roof collapses. The office of West Virgina governor Joe Manchin says that the investigation may not be complete by the end of the year.[21]
The investigative team has interviewed 126 people knowledgeable about the mine, and has plans to interview 100 more.[21]
In addition to MSHA, the FBI has also launched a probe, investigating possible criminal wrongdoing at the mine, including criminal negligence and possible bribery of federal regulators.[22]
[edit] Safety violations and fatalitiesIn 2009, the company, Massey Energy, was fined a total of $382,000 for "serious" unrepentant violations for lacking ventilation and proper equipment plans as well as failing to utilize its safety plan properly.[23] In the previous month, the authorities cited the mine for 57 safety infractions.[24] The mine received two citations the day before the explosion and in the last five years has been cited for 1,342 safety violations. The CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, has received criticism for his apparent disregard of safety.[25] The Upper Big Branch Mine-South, where the explosion occurred, has been in operation since October 1994.[26] Between 2000 and 2009, two fatalities occurred at this mine.[27]
Mine safety investigators are still searching for an exact cause, though the methane explosion, largely preventable by proper ventilation, is being closely examined. Investigators are also reviewing the record of safety violations at the Upper Big Branch mine, which amassed more than 1,100 violations in the past three years, many of them serious, including 50 of them in March 2010 for violations including improper ventilation of methane and poor escape routes. Federal regulators had ordered portions of the mine closed 60 times over the year preceding the explosion.[28]
