It's not unusual for bituminous coal to be saturated with methane, also known as natural gas. In the west, oil and gas companies take advantage of this fact to produce natural gas by drilling into coal beds. In underground mines, this methane is no longer a benefit. In these mines the damp face of the coal may literally bubble and hiss with escaping gas. So long as the percentage of methane stays below around 5%, danger is not too severe. For that reason, mines carry out regular inspections and monitor the level of gas. Walls are built inside the mine to route air through different areas to see that the working areas of the mine never come close to the danger zone. Once it reaches the critical percentage, methane laden air becomes explosive.
Today that system of inspection and ventilation failed.
Six people were killed and 21 were missing in an explosion and collapse at a West Virginia coal mine owned by a unit of Massey Energy, local media reported on Monday.
The cause of this explosion is likely the build up of methane, though a dust explosion is also possible. Right now mine rescue teams are working to save those who might still be trapped in the mine. If I had to nominate any group of people on earth as the bravest and most dedicated to their task, mine rescue teams would be at the top of the list. They train constantly for events like this, events none of them ever hope to see, and we can only hope that they are able to repeat some of the marvelous rescues we've seen in the past (including just this week in China.
However as we hope and pray for the recovery of those now under the earth, it's hard not to think about the character of those who sent them there. The CEO of Massey Energy is Don Blankenship. The same Don Blankenship who invented a scandal and funded it to the tune of $3 million to run one one state supreme court judge out of office for the crime of siding with workers. The same Blankenship who was photographed cavorting along the French Riveria with another justice while his company had a $77 million case before the court. The same Don Blankenship who regularly condemns the whole idea of environmental protection, saying that global warming does not exist and that asking people to conserve is tantamount to communism. The same Blankenship and the same Massey that last year was convicted of massive and systematic age discrimination. The same Blankenship and the same Massey who were ordered to pay $30 million in environmental damages after running up fines that actually topped $2.5 billion.
Most critically this is the same Blankenship and the same Massey who lost miners a recently as 2006 due to lack of safety equipment. At the end of that case, the widows of the dead men refused to accept the settlement, stating that it was clear that the company executives had placed profit ahead of safety.
We can't know yet the exact causes for this disaster, and we can only hope that the death toll rises no higher. But considering their past transgressions, it's hard not to be suspicious of the men whose decisions sent those now missing into danger.
Whatever happens, let's not forget that without constant attention and championing of the cause of safety, it's all too easy for any company to forget that these are men and women in their charge, not just corporate assets.
Additional discussion and news can be found in Mr Rick's diary.
[update] Along the same lines...
The Upper Big Branch mine has had six violations related to ventilation since January and four since March 17, according to MSHA data. Last year, the mine had 50 "unwarrantable failure citations," the most serious findings of negligence a mine inspector can issue. One citation was for not properly marking escape routes for miners in case of an accident, according to Ms. Smith. MSHA had proposed penalties of $900,000 last year resulting from 458 total safety violations at the mine.
[update] the number of dead is now reported at 12, with the number still missing in flux.