1 of 2 | Justin Cooper, 11, wears his father's mining hard hat during a candle light vigil for the 29 coal miners who were killed and four who are still unaccounted for in the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion in Whitesville, West Virginia, on April 7, 2010. Rescue workers have been unable to enter the mine because due to noxious gasses. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg |
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A deadly explosion at a West Virginia coal mine may have been caused partly by the sabotaging of a methane sensor, a union report released Tuesday said.
The United Mine Workers titled the report "Industrial Homicide." The union, designated as the miners' representative in the investigation of the disaster at the non-union Upper Big Branch mine, was harshly critical of the owner, Massey Energy, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and the West Virginia Office of Miner's Health, Safety and Training.
The explosion on April 5, 2010, killed 29 miners in the worst mining disaster in the United States in a quarter-century. Massey, which blamed the explosion on a sudden rush of explosive methane gas from a crack in the floor, was taken over last year by Alpha Natural Resources.
"The UMWA wishes to be very clear: Massey Energy had overall responsibility to maintain the UBB mine in a safe operating condition at all times," the report said. "Massey had the responsibility to comply with all mandatory health and safety standards. However, it was MSHA's job to oversee compliance and to be the 'watch dog.'"
Much of the report repeats findings of a federal report on the explosion -- that Massey kept two sets of safety records and failed to keep coal dust under control in the mine. But union investigators also say a methane sensor near the point of explosion would have prevented the blast if a ventilation curtain had not been set up that kept it from functioning properly.
"The curtain o-rings and tie wires indicate it was hung from the shield towards the face to a point just in by the tailgate methane sensor," the report said."This would direct all the airflow towards the sensor, diluting the methane at that point and eliminating its ability to detect the actual amount of methane on the face."
Chris Blanchard, the president of the mine, and Jason Whitehead, the director of operations, spent 3 hours underground immediately after the explosion, a trip they described as looking for survivors or bodies, the report said. Investigators later found what appeared to be a new methane sensor in the area where the explosion began.
