June 9, 2011
Coal industry officials this week roundly criticized two sets of new safety rules proposed by federal regulators following an explosion that killed 29 West Virginia miners last year. The West Virginia Coal Association and Alpha Natural Resources, the third-largest U.S. …
May 26, 2011
An administrative law judge has ordered two major coal producers, Massey Energy Co. and Peabody Energy Corp., to turn over information about coal mine accidents, injuries and work-related illnesses, federal regulators said. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said …
May 6, 2011
Troubled coal producer Massey Energy Co. has been cited for more than two dozen serious safety violations that could have caused a fire or explosion at one of its southern West Virginia mines, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration …
January 4, 2011
The U.S. coal industry had its deadliest year in nearly two decades in 2010, with much of the death toll stemming from a single explosion. As of last week, 48 miners had died in the nation’s 1,500 coal mines over …
December 28, 2010
Conducting special inspections to crack down on mines with poor safety records appears to be working, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said last week. The agency said it issued 250 citations and orders during so-called impact inspections at …
November 3, 2010
The authority of West Virginia’s mine safety office to suspend coal miners has been upheld by the state Supreme Court. The decision stems from the death of locomotive driver Victor Goudy at Consol Energy’s McElroy Mine two years ago. Goudy …
October 13, 2010
A surprise inspection has turned up serious safety violations that could have caused an explosion at another Massey Energy Co. coal mine in West Virginia, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration announced last week. Inspectors caught Massey illegally cutting …
September 30, 2010
Federal regulators have implemented new measures for identifying the nation’s most dangerous mines, replacing what U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis had called a “badly broken” process. The Mine Health and Safety Administration said the screening criteria give the agency more …
September 23, 2010
The embattled chief executive of Massey Energy has accused federal regulators of not making a genuine effort to investigate the explosion that killed 29 miners and injured two at the company’s Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. Instead, the …
August 27, 2010
Recent surprise inspections show that increased enforcement isn’t preventing U.S. coal mines from continuing to violate safety laws, the federal Mine Safety & Health Administration said. MSHA inspectors found miners had worked under an unsupported roof at a Tennessee mine, …