Associated Press
CHARLESTON —
Federal mine inspectors were told Monday to step up their enforcement of coal mine ventilation regulations to ensure companies are complying with standards designed to protect underground miners.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration also issued notices reminding the nation’s mining industry to follow laws regarding underground mine ventilation and not to tamper with methane monitoring equipment.
MSHA director Joe Main said the notices were prompted by testimony presented in May during a congressional hearing on the Upper Big Branch mine explosion. The April 5 explosion killed 29 workers.
Testimony from family members during the House Education and Labor Committee hearing raised questions about how the Massey Energy mine was ventilated.
“These standards are not voluntary, and every mine operator in the country is on notice that MSHA will not tolerate violations of ventilation standards,” Main said in an agency release.
“Mine inspectors are being instructed to beef up enforcement of ventilation standards.”
State and federal investigators are looking to see if ventilation played a role in the April explosion. They are also looking at the mine’s methane monitors to see if they had been tampered with. Preliminary reviews show the monitors had not been electronically altered.
Massey contends that MSHA forced it to change its ventilation plan at the Upper Big Branch mine. The company has said the change reduced the amount of air flowing through critical areas of the mine.
