December 30, 2014
Less than five years after an explosion fueled by excess coal dust killed 29 men deep inside a West Virginia underground mine, the nation’s coal mines are on pace for an all-time low in work-related deaths. Federal mine safety officials …
November 18, 2014
The former Massey Energy chief, scorned by regulators and a U.S. senator, may face three decades in prison if convicted of charges stemming from a West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 workers, the worst U.S. coal industry accident in …
November 14, 2014
A hydraulic leak and the failure to use a safety block contributed to the crushing death of a contractor at a Wyoming coal mine. The Mine Safety and Health Administration investigated the June 6 death of 25-year-old Joshua L. Wishard …
August 8, 2014
A North Dakota company must allow federal inspectors unfettered access to a sand and gravel mine that is the subject of workplace safety complaints, a federal judge ordered Aug. 6. The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit in July …
July 9, 2014
Rhino Eastern LLC changed management at its Eagle Mine 3 after inspectors warned that coal miners faced the risk of deadly explosions and developing black lung disease. The company acknowledged falling short of safety standards. Rhino Eastern also took other …
May 4, 2014
More than a dozen coal companies, including a unit of Patriot Coal Corp., challenged a new federal mine-safety regulation aimed at reducing black lung disease, with some arguing the objectives are unattainable. The companies today asked for a review of …
April 23, 2014
The Obama administration ordered a 25 percent cut in the levels of coal dust in U.S. mines to reduce deadly black lung disease, a move that drew criticism from the mining industry and the threat of a lawsuit. The rule …
December 24, 2013
Federal mine inspectors have found 97 violations at a Colorado mine where two miners died of carbon-monoxide poisoning last month. The Durango Herald reported that Mine Safety and Health Administration officials found the violations at the Ouray County mine during …
November 21, 2013
Four percent of underground equipment in West Virginia coal mines are fitted with detectors that automatically shut down mobile machinery when people get too close, according to a state survey. The Charleston Gazette reported the state Office of Miners’ Health, …
October 9, 2013
Federal regulators are urging U.S. coal companies to refocus on health and safety regulations after three fatalities in three days. The deaths in occurred last week amid the ongoing government shutdown. In West Virginia, a miner was struck in the …