Massey News

Remembering 29 Miners Lost in West Virginia Blast 3 Years Ago

As West Virginians marked the third anniversary of an explosion that killed 29 coal miners Friday, congressional Democrats called the lack of action on tougher mine safety legislation “shameful.” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin placed a photo of white and a …

Alpha Seals West Virginia Mine Where 2010 Blast Killed 29

Alpha Natural Resources has completed sealing the West Virginia mine where an explosion killed 29 workers in 2010. Alpha spokesman Ted Pile told The Register-Herald that crews put the final concrete seal in place at the Upper Big Branch mine …

West Virginia Mine Blast Survivors’ Cases Still Unsettled

Nine men who survived West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine disaster want to abandon mediation of their personal injury claims and start gathering evidence for trial because they say the mine’s new owner isn’t negotiating in good faith. The miners …

Massey Offers $35 Million to Settle Coal Slurry Claim in West Virginia

Massey Energy Co. has offered $35 million to settle a 7-year-old lawsuit with hundreds of southern West Virginia residents who say the mining company poisoned their drinking supplies with wastewater called coal slurry. The settlement proposed last month is confidential, …

Massey Settles Massive West Virginia Coal Slurry Case

After a marathon mediation session that ended just before dawn Wednesday, mining company Massey Energy settled a 7-year-old lawsuit with hundreds of southern West Virginia residents who claim the company poisoned their drinking water supplies with coal slurry. Circuit Judge …

Federal Report: Coal Dust, Deception in Fatal West Virginia Mine Blast

The blast that killed 29 men in a West Virginia coal mine last year was probably caused by coal dust ignition, compounded by safety failings, intimidation and deception by the mine’s owner, the U.S. mine regulator said Wednesday. The Mine …

Mine Owner Massey Kept 2 Sets of Safety Records: NPR

The owners of the West Virginia coal mine where 29 men died in a blast last year kept two sets of safety records, one that it concealed from federal safety officials, National Public Radio reported Wednesday, The government-subsidized radio network …

Coal Industry Blasts New Federal Mine Safety Rules

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. …

Massey Criticizes Federal Report on West Virginia Mine Disaster

The company that owned the coal mine where 29 miners died in the worst U.S. mining disaster in four decades concluded the explosion was the result of unpreventable natural gas buildup and not coal dust, contradicting the findings of an …

Feds Demand Workplace Injury Records from Mining Firms

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 …