As Rescue Efforts Continue for Miners, Officials Press for Answers
By IAN URBINA and BERNIE BECKER
NYT
MONTCOAL, W.Va. — As rescue workers waited anxiously on Wednesday to re-enter the Upper Big Branch mine where at least 25 people were killed in a deadly blast this week, federal officials said two safety citations were made against the mine’s operator on the day of the explosion.
According to newly released records from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, one of the citations issued Monday against the operator, the Massey Energy Company, was for failing to properly insulate and seal spliced electrical cables. That citation was for a problem outside the blast area and the error was fixed immediately, federal mine safety officials said.
The other citation was for failing to keep maps of above-ground escape routes current. It was not immediately clear if federal inspectors were at the mine before the blast, or if the citations were issued for conditions they discovered after responding to the explosion.
At the time of the explosion on Monday, Kevin Stricklin, an administrator at the mine safety agency, was waiting at the airport in nearby Charleston, W.Va., on his way from Washington to a Massey mine in Kentucky. An agency spokesman said Mr. Stricklin was traveling to discuss various violations at the Kentucky mine. Mr. Stricklin quickly canceled his plans to visit the other Massey site and instead headed to the Upper Big Branch.
(More here.)
NYT
MONTCOAL, W.Va. — As rescue workers waited anxiously on Wednesday to re-enter the Upper Big Branch mine where at least 25 people were killed in a deadly blast this week, federal officials said two safety citations were made against the mine’s operator on the day of the explosion.
According to newly released records from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, one of the citations issued Monday against the operator, the Massey Energy Company, was for failing to properly insulate and seal spliced electrical cables. That citation was for a problem outside the blast area and the error was fixed immediately, federal mine safety officials said.
The other citation was for failing to keep maps of above-ground escape routes current. It was not immediately clear if federal inspectors were at the mine before the blast, or if the citations were issued for conditions they discovered after responding to the explosion.
At the time of the explosion on Monday, Kevin Stricklin, an administrator at the mine safety agency, was waiting at the airport in nearby Charleston, W.Va., on his way from Washington to a Massey mine in Kentucky. An agency spokesman said Mr. Stricklin was traveling to discuss various violations at the Kentucky mine. Mr. Stricklin quickly canceled his plans to visit the other Massey site and instead headed to the Upper Big Branch.
(More here.)
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