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The April 5, 2010 Upper Big Branch explosion in West Virginia was the worst coal mine disaster in the United States in 40 years. Given the importance of the coal industry to the United States, coal mine safety regulations do not effectively prevent such disasters from occurring, and a culture of impunity protects both coal companies and government agencies from being held accountable for contributing to disasters. The United Mine Workers of America's diminished strength in West Virginia leaves most miners with little recourse against growing corporations. An examination of the history of disasters in West Virginia coal mines provides insight into how the factors leading to the Upper Big Branch explosion developed and can potentially be prevented. [West Virginia, coal mining, mine disasters, labor unions, corporate impunity, Massey Energy, legislation and enforcement] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photo essay which documents how family and friends honored the 29 men that died in the mine explosion in Montcoal, West Virginia is presented.

This article discusses the recent mine explosion in West Virginia that resulted in the deaths of 12 miners with one survivor barely hanging on. One miner probably died immediately from the blast, but the others died while curled up behind a curtain to hold back poison gases. When rescuers reached the miners, the news somehow got mixed up and relatives thought that all but one had survived. Their jubilation soon turned to grief as the truth came out. Some criticize President George W. Bush for causing the Mine Safety and Health Administration to lose its enforcement teeth.

The article discusses the West Virginia mine explosion that occurred in April 2010 and killed 29 mine workers. It states that opening the disaster investigation and results to the public may provide answers to the accident that happened after mining regulations were revamped. It talks about the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) which is in charge with mine safety and record keeping of the mine and safety violations. It also mentions the lawsuit filed by the United Mine Workers of America, as well as the non-transparency of the agency.

The article presents an interview with Wilbur Ross, the head of W. L. Ross & Co., which controls some of the International Coal Group that owns the Sago coal mine that exploded in West Virginia. Ross discusses the impact of the Sago coal mine accident on him. Ross discusses the mine's safety violations.

The article reports on the explosion which occurred in the Consol No. 9 mine of Consolidation Coal Co. in Marion County, West Virginia, in the year 1968, and plan of the company to make the area of the explosion a cemetery for those miners whose bodies are nearly impossible to be recovered. 78 miners were killed in the explosion, out of which dead bodies of only five miners have been recovered till date, due to which widows of those whose bodies are yet to be recovered have agreed to the plan. The plan, as reported, was first suggested by clergy Everett Briggs of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Monongah, West Virginia.

The article focuses on an explosion in one of the mines of Consolidation Coal Co. in 1968 which killed many of the company's miners. It states that the said incident in West Virginia could be regarded as the worst mining accident after the one in West Frankfort, Illinois in 1951. It says that no one was able to determine the cause of the blast; however, William Park of the U.S. Bureau of mines claimed that high levels of gases such as methane were detected inside it.

The article presents information on Randy McCloy Jr., the only person to survive the Sago Mine explosion in Tallmansville, West Virginia, on January 2, 2006.

The article announces the release of a report by West Virginia on the cause of Sago Mine explosion that killed 12 workers on January 2, 2006. According to the state's Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, a methane explosion in an active and sealed-off area of the mine caused smoke, dust, and debris that trapped the men killed and one survivor. The office made a commitment to the families that the final report would not be released publicly or to the media.

The article reports on a coal mine explosion in West Virginia in which only one miner survived. Family members report that some of the miners had had concerns about the safety of the mine. Miner Randal McCloy was the only survivor of the accident. Ben Hatfield, the president of the International Coal Group Inc., tried to explain what happened to the families.

The article reports that Joseph A. Main, chief of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), defends the actions of his agency with regards to the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia in April 2010. Main says that there is no any facts that can prove that his agency could have stopped the explosion. It adds that Main has admitted that his agency could have done something, however, he notes that MSHA inspectors have done their jobs at their best.

The article reports that the new owner of Massey Energy Co. has agreed on the payment of 209 million dollars for criminal and civil penalties on the explosion that killed 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia on April 2010. Joseph A. Main, the administrator at U.S. Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA), states that the management of Massey has built a culture of fear to their miners. Furthermore, the MSHA will investigate and conduct an internal review on the issue.

The article reports that the killer explosion at the Upper Big Branch metallurgical coal mine in West Virginia blames the mine's owner, Massey Energy Co., in the tragedy. The company disagrees with the independent investigators who accused it of ignoring safety standards regarding the ventilation system, rock dusting, and equipment maintenance. The investigation was commissioned by West Virginia governor Joe Manchin III and supervised by J. Davitt McAteer, former assistant secretary of labor for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The article reports on a plan submitted by Massey Energy Co. to the U.S. Labor Department's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to seal its Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia, where an April 2010 explosion killed 29 miners.

The article reports on a public briefing scheduled by the U.S. Labor Department's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to disclose the results of its investigation into the explosion at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia, in April 2010. The briefing will be held at the Mine Safety and Health Academy in Beckley, West Virginia, on June 29, 2011. Available evidence indicated that a low volume of methane or natural gas served as the ignition fuel.

The article comments on U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis' quick response to the coal mine explosion in West Virginia. Solis personally went to West Virginia to check on the families of coal miners who died in the explosion. According to Solis, her quick response to the incident is a reflection on how she approaches her job. However, the author points that Solis should be on the center of the most pressing domestic issue, which is the increasing unemployment rate in the country.

The article offers information on the April 5, 2010 explosion at a West Virginia mine managed by Massey Energy and discusses a report by Allen Johnson, co-founder of the group Christians for the Mountains, published within the issue coal companies in the U.S.

The article focuses on the recurrence of mine explosions that killed many workers in West Virginia, as officials attempt to improve safety in workplaces. It states that mine workers and advocates attested at the Senate committee trial in April 2010 regarding their fear losing their careers for unveiling unsafe situation at Upper Big Branch mine. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller reflects on the approval of the Mine Improvement and New emergency Response Act soon after the Sago Mine incident in 2006.

The article reports on the call of U.S. President Barack Obama for the thorough investigation of the mine explosion that killed 29 people in the Massey Energy Company in West Virginia on April 5, 2010.

This article reports on the setback experienced by Massey Energy Co. with its plans to boost the output of metallurgical coal at its operations following a blast at its West Virginia mine in March 2010. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm will not be able to replace all of the output lost as a result of the blast that led to an indefinite suspension of operations at the mine. At least 25 workers were killed by the methane explosion at the mine. The target output of the mine for 2010 is two million tonnes.

The article presents information on the announcement from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to grant funds on the recipients of Brookwood-Sago. The grant honors 12 men who died in the 2006 Sago Mine explosion in Buckhannon and 13 men killed at the Jim Walter Resources No. 5 Mine in Brookwood, Alabama. A list of the recipients is given like the fund from Pennsylvania State University for the design and from United Mine Workers of America Career Centers for the training materials.

The article discusses the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) report on the January 2, 2006 Sago Mine explosion in West Virginia. The report stated that 12 miners were killed in the mine following a methane explosion and subsequent entrapment. The MHSA report concluded that the cause of the explosion was a lightning strike discharge creating electromagnetic energy that traveled through the ground down an abandoned pump cable, which acted as an antenna.

The article reports on the changes made in the mining safety laws following the Sago Mine explosion in West Virginia. The revised laws include requiring miners to be equipped with self-rescue breathing devices, wireless communications and tracking systems. Mine operators are also required to provide extra air supplies and hotlines to ensure accelerated rescue efforts following an emergency.

The article reports on the explosion that happened at a West Virginia coal mine on January 2, 2006. According to the report, 13 miners were trapped 262 feet below the ground and all but one of them subsequently died. The tragedy seemed like an unexpected blast from the past, when mining disasters were more commonplace, which made headline news around the world. It shocked the industry because government regulations combined with new technologies have improved mine safety in the United States. Four more miners were killed in separate occurrence in the next month.

The article presents fictional interviews with "Newsweek" journalist Howard Fineman, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and "Washington Post" columnist Howard Kurtz. Fineman discusses the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Rumsfeld discusses the Iraq War. Kurtz discusses the coal mine explosion in West Virginia.

The article reports that musician Hank Williams Junior visited Sago Mine disaster survivor Randal McCloy Junior. Williams played his song "A Country Boy Can Survive." Williams talked with McCloy's family about how he had fallen into a coma after an accident. Williams promised to visit McCloy again when he wakes up.

The article focuses on the reaction of private equity investor Wilbur Ross Jr. to the explosion which killed thirteen miners in a mine that he owns in Sago, West Virginia. The press coverage portrayed him as a heartless coal baron. Ross became the target of recriminations from victims' families whose emotional swing riveted the nation. Ross stated that the memory of those who died at Sago will haunt him.

The article deals with the wrong information released regarding the survivors in a coal mine explosion on January 3, 2006 in West Virginia. 12 out of the 13 trapped coal miners were found dead 41 hours after the explosion. Poor communication with rescuers misled the journalists to report that the miners were alive.

The article reports on the explosion that occurred at Sago Mine, an International Coal Group owned-mine, in Tallmansville, West Virginia. According to the U.S. Labor Department, the poisonous gas created by the blast had killed 12 miners, causing a delay for the rescuers to save the miners until the gas fully ventilated. Randal McCloy was the only survivor in the explosion.

The article looks at a coal mine accident in West Virginia that killed twelve miners. This was America's worst mine accident for four years, and the worst in West Virginia since the Marion County blast of 1968, which spurred proper federal mine-safety laws. The Sago mine had been cited for safety violations more than 50 times.

The article discusses the explosion of Performance Coal's Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. The blast killed 29 coal miners in April 2010. The Mine Safety and Health Administration released an order after the explosion seizing control of the mine. The order was published pursuant to Section 103(k) of the Mine Act.

The article focuses on the key role of Massey Energy in the April 5, 2010 explosion at its Upper Big Branch Mine, according to an independent report conducted by J. Davitt McAteer. Joe Manchin, governor of West Virginia in 2010, has commissioned the report. The fact that the explosion is preventable was highlighted in the paper. It also points out that failures of basic safety systems have led to the explosion.