Safety reports document deadly conditions at West Virginia mine

In several cases inspectors reported that mine foremen performing mandatory safety checks before each shift ignored “obvious” hazards, including the buildup of explosive coal dust, the presence of dangerous electrical equipment and unstable roof conditions. Managers then entered reports in the logs concealing these hazards, leading one inspector to charge a foreman with “aggravated conduct by his failure to record and take action on a known hazard.”

On December 14, a little more than two weeks before the disaster, an inspector from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) found coal six to eight inches deep in piles along mine walls and roadways, as well as an accumulation of highly explosive coal dust on the mine roof and wall. In his report, the inspector noted: “The operator has shown a high degree of negligence for the health and safety of the miners that work at this coal mine by allowing the conditions to exist.”

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/jan2006/mine-j14.shtml