West Virginia's Governor Joe Manchin stated today that he wants miners to return to work on Friday. However, he wants that instead of mining coal on Friday they all take the day to re-evaluate safety procedures. The accident in the Big Branch Mine in Naoma killed 29 miners and proves to be the worst incident since 1972, when 91 miners died. Manchin wants that everyone works together to come up with better, safer working conditions in the mines. Afterall, he feels safetly is the number one concern. Upper Big Branch Mine, the part where the explosion took place, is closed until the investigation is complete. There have also been some interesting details leaked about the record of Massey Energy, the owner of the mine. Davitt McAteer, whose overseen other mine investigations, states that Massey Energy has a "checkered" record. Massey Energy also has a record of doing things the cheapest way, not the way that follows safety laws. In fact, just last year, Big Branch Mine got 450 citations.
It's sad to hear about another mining tragedy. I hope that West Virginia's governor keeps pushing to get safety laws re-evaluated. But even with better laws, I think that what's really important is the follow thru and the actual carry out of these safety procedures within the mines. It seems way too often companies focus more on the cheapest, fastest way to produce a product that they push safety to the sidelines. It can't be this way. This is why accidents keep occurring. Also, the federal inspectors need to keep checking these mines and making sure they are following the laws. If they aren't following the laws then the owners' of the mines need to be punished and severely fined. Hopefully then, there would be less mining accidents like this one.
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