Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 19, 1994 TAG: 9404190141
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: By GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
One of the more bizarre findings in the report, released to the public Friday, involved the weekly examinations a mine operator is supposed to make of a mine's ventilation system. The report said federal mine inspectors at MSHA's Norton office weren't aware those "weekly" examinations were required at least every seven days.
The agency looked at its involvement with the Southmountain Coal Co. Inc. No. 3 mine near Norton, which exploded in the early morning of Dec. 7, 1992, killing eight miners working inside and injuring a ninth. One purpose of the review was to make recommendations for changes in the MSHA's procedures where needed.
The company's failure to comply with mandatory safety standards resulted in the explosion, MSHA concluded after the accident. The mine operator's failure to maintain an adequate ventilation system to expel explosive methane gas from the mine, to conduct adequate pre-shift and weekly safety examinations of the mine, and to prohibit smoking by its employees underground contributed to the accident, the agency said.
MSHA levied $439,172 in civil fines against the company for safety violations found after and the accident,. The company has appealed those fines. This fall, the Coeburn-based company and two of its supervisors will stand trial in U.S. District Court in Abingdon on criminal charges related to the accident, including allegations that company records were falsified to cover up safety violations.
During its review, MSHA looked at the work of safety inspectors, enforcement after the discovery of safety violations, the recovery of victims of the mine blast, the keeping of safety records, and other issues.
Among the specific shortcomings discovered in the review were:
During the federal agency's five consecutive quarterly inspections of the mine before the accident, inspectors didn't arrive at the mine early enough to travel underground with miners on the first day of inspections - a failing that could take away some of the surprise benefit of an inspection.
Inspectors didn't recognize and cite several safety violations that existed when one or more the inspections were conducted.
Inspectors didn't always inspect all working areas of the mine and carry out appropriate ventilation tests.
Inspectors failed to detect when miners didn't perform pre-shift and other inspections of the mine correctly.
During six quarterly inspections before the accident, inspections didn't follow proper steps while determining whether correct procedures had been taken to suppress coal dust. Coal dust in the mine air was found to have exploded after the initial methane blast.
Rodney Brown, a spokesman for Davitt McAteer, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety, said the agency would let the report speak for itself. "We're sensitive to the fact that we're still involved in litigation," he said.
The agency stands behind its previous findings of the cause of the accident. "MSHA did not cause the accident. Mine operators are still responsible for operating their own mines safely," he said.
After its indictment on criminal charges, Southmountain Coal is owned by Jack Davis of Coeburn, claimed the charges were an effort by MSHA to cover up its responsibility in the explosion.
Jack Kennedy, a company lawyer, said Monday it would be improper for him to comment on the MSHA report.
by CNB