Heat Treat Industry News

July 25, 2010

Massey accused of disabling safety detector

Massey Energy Co, owners of the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Virginia where 29 miners died in an explosion earlier this year, is facing new allegations of tampering with safety equipment.

An electrician at the mine has said that he was ordered to bypass the methane detector on a piece of mining equipment, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has reported, bringing general safety conditions at the mine into question.

It has been alleged that the detector, which is designed to shut down a continuous mining machine if methane levels exceed safe limits, was bridged in order to allow mining to continue uninterrupted.

While the machinery involved is not believed to have contributed to the explosion earlier this year, Massey’s wider safety practices are now being investigated.

The company has criticised the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s handling of the investigation into the explosion, and last month claimed the administration contributed to the event by refusing the use of scrubbers, used on mining machines to reduce the amount of coal dust in the air, and to help dilute methane in the area where miners are working.

http://www.mining-journal.com/

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