WASHINGTON, March 23 (UPI) -- An independent panel Friday faulted Mine Safety and Health Administration enforcement for the massive gas explosion that killed 29 miners in West Virginia.
The panel, appointed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, examined the causes of the April 5, 2010, blast that wracked the Upper Big Branch Mine South about 30 miles south of Charleston. The panel concluded though mine operators ultimately were responsible for the blast, mine safety inspectors failed to take "appropriate actions during the inspections in the months prior to the explosion" that might have prevented the disaster or led to the mine being idled.