Is this any indication on how seriously the company cares about safety and security of its workers? I would say yes, this says it resoundingly clear...
From This evening's Lexington Herald Leader PM newsletter...
Inspectors have cited hundreds of safety violations at Massey Energy coal mines in Kentucky since an April 5 explosion at one of the company's mines in West Virginia killed 29 employees, federal records show.
The 279 citations and orders in Kentucky, more than 80 of them alleging significant and substantial violations, were among a total of 442 issued to Massey underground mines in Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia from April 5 through Thursday.
Of those 442, more than half — 222 — were issued to one Massey property in Kentucky, Freedom Energy Mining Co. in Pike County, according to a Herald-Leader analysis of data from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration....
Pike county, great, the next one could be a half hour up the road from my house. When will this be taken seriously, when will these companies be held accountable for their actions, and when will the people of the Appalachian region finally get viable alternatives for their economy, rather than their dependence upon this abuser? That's all I'm asking.
Again, from the Lexington Hearld Leader...
...In the two weeks before the explosion, federal inspectors cited 73 violations at Massey's Kentucky mines. Of those, 21 were considered significant and substantial. That numbers has since jumped to 87....
Don't let this story disappear. I know Obama has ordered a review, but that doesn't mean anything will get done, those of us in coal country have read that headline before. They have no intentions of changing. None whatsoever. We need to keep on them as a community. We need to do something about the coal industries abuse of the court systems to bypass these violations and citations that I diaried about months ago. We need to do something for the economy of the region too, considering the significant portion of the economy and jobs the coal industry influences.
It just drives me crazy, seeing the U.S. ignore problems like this, all the while fighting wars for fossil fuels, or scrapping wind power units in Oregon for the Air Force. But we will sacrifice the troops/miners to keep using this polluting crap.
Ok, Going to go to my happy place.
P.S.
OMG, Thank you all for the Rec List placement. This is a first for me! blush. For my speaking tour, I want bendy straws and peanut butter logs. Thank you.
;-p