| Two more coal miners were killed yesterday in WV, and Gov. Joe Manchin has called for the state's mines to stop production in a "stand down," which will allow for safety checks.
An underground miner was killed at Long Branch Energy's No. 18 Tunnel Mine in Boone County when a wall support gave way.
A bulldozer operator was killed after hitting a natural gas line which started a fire at Massey Energy's Black Castle Surface Mine in Boone County.
The fatality is the third at a Massey subsidiary in less than two weeks.
Yesterday's deaths brought the number of deaths in the state's coal industry this year to 16.
Manchin's stand-down could take anywhere from an hour to half a shift.
It was called a "high alert" for the state's coal industry.
MINE SAFETY RECORDS - Latest Fatalities
- Long Branch No. 18 Tunnel Mine:
The underground mine employs around 60 people and produced 371,844 tons of coal last year, according to MSHA.
The mine's injury rate was more than two-and-a-half times the national average for a mine of that type, according to MSHA figures.
Federal inspectors issued 50 citations against the mine last year.
The most recent was on December 22nd.
At least 19 citations were considered "significant and substantial."
While penalties have yet to be proposed for 13 of those citations, penalties for the others total $3,677. So far, the company has paid $855 of those.
- Black Castle Mine:
The Massey Energy surface mine has around 186 workers and yielded 2.7 million tons of coal last year, according to MSHA.
With only two employees injured during the first three quarters of 2005, its injury rate fell below the national average for that type of mine, but it was issued 63 citations in 2005, resulting in $14,830 in penalties.
Safety records at Sago and Logan County are currently the subject of a federal investigation.
Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America, testified last week in Washington, saying "Congress decided that this industry was incapable of policing itself and established MSHA as an independent body to protect the coal miners of the United States of America."
"And in 2001, under the Bush administration, we put the coal industry in charge of this agency."
"We have submitted 17 rules that were withdrawn in 2001 or later that would have protected coal miners in the United States of America," saying there were many other issues regarding safety the feds systematically allow to happen every day.
He complained about the accepted system of reducing fines to "virtually nothing."
Roberts said the Bush administration has put the fox in charge of the hen house.
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