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Settlement reached in West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette: The owners of a West Virginia coal mine where 29 miners died in an explosion in April 2010 “will spend $200 million on fines, victim restitution and mine safety improvements to resolve enforcement actions and some criminal matters” relating to the disaster, writes Ken Ward, Jr. The money will be paid by Alpha Natural Resources, which bought the Upper Big Branch Mine from Massey Energy in June. The settlement resolves civil penalties for the mine’s operators, Performance Coal Co., but criminal prosecution of officers or agents for Performance Coal and Massey is still possible. Ward reports investigators are looking at “evidence that Massey covered up safety conditions at Upper Big Branch, by keeping hazards out of official record books and warning workers underground of impending inspections.”
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Tags: mine disaster, worker safety, workplace safety;
Category: In The News;