Former Coal Mining CEO Faces Prison Over West Virginia Safety Violations
The indictment of a former coal mining CEO over safety violations Thursday sent a “strong message,” said the United Mine Workers of America. Don Blankenship faces four criminal counts and up to 31 years in prison for alleged safety violations at mines operated by Massey Energy, which he headed from 2000 until his retirement in 2010.
“The carnage that was a recurring nightmare at Massey mines during Blankenship’s tenure at the head of that company was unmatched. No other company had even half as many fatalities during that time,” said United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts.
The federal grand jury’s indictment charges that “Blankenship conspired to commit and cause routine, willful violations of mandatory federal mine safety and health standards at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine, located in Raleigh County, West Virginia.”
Blankenship presided over Massey at the time of the worst U.S. mining disaster in 40 years. The April 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine killed 29 people and drew attention to numerous safety violations at Massey mines, including illegal levels of coal dust, low air quality, and worn equipment.
Blankenship’s attorney said his client is “entirely innocent” and would fight the charges. Another former top executive at Massey, David Hughart, was sentenced last year to 42 months in prison for his role in the company’s safety infractions.
Blankenship bills himself as an “American competitionist” on his website, which so far Friday was silent on the matter of the indictment but does feature essays calling the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) “evil and incapable” and criticizing the United Mine Workers of America for its previous support of Al Gore, “the man behind the Global Warming hoax.” The coal industry has been challenged in recent years by new federal regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, which the Environmental Protection Agency has linked to climate change and public health effects.
Massey Energy was fined more than $10 million for violations following the Upper Big Branch explosion, but as a recent investigation by NPR highlights, many fines are going unpaid while violations and dangerous accidents continue at several mines in the United States.
Miner injuries and deaths still occur regularly both in the U.S. and worldwide: Two days before the Blankenship indictment, a West Virginia mine foreman was killed by a piece of rock, the fourteenth worker death this year, according to the MSHA. Just last month, 16 miners were killed in a mine collapse in China’s Xinjiang province. In Turkey, 18 miners were trapped, and at least two killed, after a mine flooded and collapsed.
Several officials from Turkey’s Soma Coal Mine Company are on trial and facing life sentences over an accident that killed more than 300 workers in May.
Recently on Yale University’s Environment 360 site, Ken Ward Jr., a journalist who has long covered the coal industry in West Virginia, reported that accidents are not the only hazard for miners. Black lung disease, which is caused by inhaling coal dust, is on the rise among miners in Central Appalachia: “Coal-mining disasters get historic markers,” Ward wrote. “Black lung deaths just get headstones.”
You May Also Like
Go Further
Animals
- This ‘saber-toothed’ salmon wasn’t quite what we thoughtThis ‘saber-toothed’ salmon wasn’t quite what we thought
- Why this rhino-zebra friendship makes perfect senseWhy this rhino-zebra friendship makes perfect sense
- When did bioluminescence evolve? It’s older than we thought.When did bioluminescence evolve? It’s older than we thought.
- Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?
- This pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilienceThis pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilience
Environment
- This pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilienceThis pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilience
- Listen to 30 years of climate change transformed into haunting musicListen to 30 years of climate change transformed into haunting music
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?
History & Culture
- Meet the original members of the tortured poets departmentMeet the original members of the tortured poets department
- Séances at the White House? Why these first ladies turned to the occultSéances at the White House? Why these first ladies turned to the occult
- Gambling is everywhere now. When is that a problem?Gambling is everywhere now. When is that a problem?
- Beauty is pain—at least it was in 17th-century SpainBeauty is pain—at least it was in 17th-century Spain
- The real spies who inspired ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’The real spies who inspired ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’
Science
- Here's how astronomers found one of the rarest phenomenons in spaceHere's how astronomers found one of the rarest phenomenons in space
- Not an extrovert or introvert? There’s a word for that.Not an extrovert or introvert? There’s a word for that.
- NASA has a plan to clean up space junk—but is going green enough?NASA has a plan to clean up space junk—but is going green enough?
- Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?
Travel
- What it's like to hike the Camino del Mayab in MexicoWhat it's like to hike the Camino del Mayab in Mexico
- Is this small English town Yorkshire's culinary capital?Is this small English town Yorkshire's culinary capital?
- This chef is taking Indian cuisine in a bold new directionThis chef is taking Indian cuisine in a bold new direction