Mine regulator faults Massey safety, says blast preventable

NEW YORK (Reuters)—The explosion that killed 29 miners in a West Virginia coal mine last year was probably caused by coal dust ignition, aided by inadequate ventilation and lack of functioning water sprays, the U.S. mine regulator said Wednesday.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration also said Massey Energy Co., owner of the Upper Big Branch mine, kept two sets of safety records and that management intimidated miners to not report safety hazards.

“There was some methane ignition that led to a massive coal dust explosion that could have been prevented,” MSHA administrator Kevin Stricklin told a public briefing.

The final report by the mine safety agency is expected to be released this year.

Mr. Stricklin said the investigators’ initial findings were that the April 5, 2010, blast—the worst in U.S. coal mining in 40 years—probably was caused by a buildup of coal dust in the mine.

“There was a limited amount of methane and natural gas,” he said, contradicting Massey’s conclusion that the blast was set off by a naturally occurring and unpredictable inundation of gas.

Massey, which owned the mine at the time of the accident, recently was acquired by Alpha Natural Resources Inc. Alpha had no immediate comment on the initial MSHA findings.

According to Mr. Stricklin, Massey kept one internal set of production reports detailing safety problems and how they delayed coal production. But the official records, which are reviewed by MSHA and required by federal law, failed to mention the same safety hazards.

Portions of the Upper Big Branch mine hit by the explosion were not treated for excessive and explosive coal dust because there was inadequate ventilation and missing or faulty water sprays, Stricklin said.

Shares of Alpha were up 3.3% at $46.07 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.