Massey Ceo Blankenship Responds to Questions Surrounding Explosion: ; Coal Chief Says Hell Idle Mines in Question

Charleston Daily Mail › April 15, 2010

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Massey Energy plans to idle several mines on the basis of safety violations, company CEO Don Blankenship said Wednesday. In fact, Blankenship said in an interview he has already ordered the idling of several mines that received recent citations from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. The decision comes a week after 29 miners died following an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine, a Massey mine with a history of safety violations. It was not clear which Massey mines would be idled, for how long, or whether the idling was completely voluntary. I did idle several mines (Tuesday) and there may be some more this week on the basis of some violations MSHA had written since this accident to make sure we use the violations at one particular mine to assess all similar circumstances at all of our mines, Blankenship said. Also Wednesday, Gov. Joe Manchin asked all 200 underground mines in West Virginia to cease production Friday in honor of last weeks disaster and so miners could focus on safety. The governor said this week he is concerned about the safety of currently operating mines, though he did not single out Massey. But Blankenship told the Daily Mail he didnt believe Massey mines were dangerous. Were not operating any mine that we think needs to be shut down, otherwise it would be shut down, he said. Blankenship said he wasnt sure what caused last weeks explosion and that its not wise for him to speculate publicly. If you fixate yourself on one theory you might overlook something else, so weve been careful, he said. But Blankenship questioned the now widespread theory that the Upper Big Branch mines history of safety violations for poor ventilation and the buildup of methane and coal dust were related to the explosion. He said violations have to be abated to the satisfaction of the company and federal and state regulators before work can continue. Thats the reason its a difficult question when somebody says, Did the violations have anything to do with the accident? Blankenship said. They should not because every violation is abated and agreed to by everyone before there is any further mining and so you would not think that any violation in the past had any relevance. The mine had hundreds of violations over the past decade, including 57 in the month before the explosion. Those included citations for poorly controlling dust, improperly planning to ventilate dust and methane, and allowing the accumulation of combustible materials. Asked if it was conditions at the mine or regulators that caused the number of violations, Blankenship noted the head of MSHA changes with the President, and sometimes, he said, people emphasize different things. I would be speculating to say exactly what was driving the ventilation focus over the last several months, he said. Likewise, he defended the company from criticism of the 61 withdrawal orders issued at Upper Big Branch in 2009 and 2010. Those orders mean the alleged violation is serious enough that a section of the mine is closed and workers are removed from the mine. Its actually a positive thing in the sense that it shows, that in some cases, we were probably self- reporting our issues and MSHA was involved, Blankenship said. He also questioned accounts of poor air quality in areas of the mine. Its my understanding that there was plenty of air available to the sections that were the subject of the accident and to the wall, Blankenship said. The wall refers to the long wall where mining was taking place. At a meeting Tuesday, a union representative on the West Virginia Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety had an exchange with Manchin about why methane monitors that are designed to shut down equipment if levels creep up did not prevent the explosion. Blankenship said, We dont know where the spark came from, where the explosion occurred or what happened. But the methane monitors to our knowledge would have been functioning normally. The investigation will determine whether they were or they werent. He said while the methane monitors are on equipment and in various locations, they are not throughout the sprawling mine. You dont really know whether the methane monitors had an opportunity to discover the issue or not, Blankenship said. He said the company is doing its own investigation of the incident. That is in addition to probes to be conducted by MSHA, state mine regulators and several other agencies or panels. He hopes to see the cause determined. I am hopeful that it is something that can be prevented in the future, but that nothing that was in place to prevent it today failed, Blankenship said. Still, he didnt retreat from his criticism of some mine safety regulations as dilutive measures that increased paperwork but not necessarily safety. However, he said he was torn between the scrutiny he received for such questions and his responsibility to be a spokesperson for coal miners. A lot of times people dont realize that if I were not of high character and I saw the government and/ or others causing dilution of effort or putting in place things that were nonsensical that were taking resources, and I didnt speak, then, in my opinion, I would be letting our 6,000 people down as well as 30,000 other coal miners. And that trumps my popularity and my political correctness, Blankenship said. He said more cooperation between companies and regulators was needed. We really need more cooperation rather than one side i.e. the government, whether it be state or federal and the companies being at loggerheads, Blankenship said. Its really difficult to get the right answers when one party feels like theyre the subject and the other party feels like theyre in the aggressive position. So, we need to work better together, he said. And, of course, if you know me, Im a pragmatist, I believe in pragmatism. I believe in finding causation, and I believe that physics and chemistry and so forth are the same everyday regardless of what the political atmosphere is. He added, And, so, when we find causations of accidents or so forth, we need to take action that is directed toward that and not actions that are meant to demonstrate power or authority or that are to gain public attention, so I am hopeful that in this case there will be a lot more working together and a lot more physical, factual laws come out of it, as opposed to things that are developed perhaps politically. Asked if Massey ever asked for the removal of a mine inspector at a mine, Blankenship admitted sometimes human interaction plays a factor. Weve never asked anyone to leave; weve sometimes suggested that maybe were not getting a fair break, but its not horribly common, he said. He also said hes not trying to blame anyone at Massey for last weeks explosion. We dont know what happened, and we dont know whether any human being of any level of intelligence or dedication or experience could have done anything about it, Blankenship said. So, were determined to see the investigation through and see as best we can what happened, but I dont think anybodys head has to roll. I think thats misplaced emphasis right now. Blankenship also had a different take on the ability of companies to prevent explosions than MSHA administrator Kevin Stricklin. All explosions are preventable, Stricklin said last week. Blankenship said there are limitations. I dont disagree, but I think what Kevin is saying is the right thing to say and its hopefully true, but there are limitations to mankind: Man cant do what God can do, Blankenship said. Im always hesitant to say like the politicians do, Were going to make sure this never happens again, because I know were dealing with human beings and were dealing with circumstances sometimes beyond our understanding. But I can say that I believe we will, as a company, find better ways somehow. But I have no idea right now what they are.

The Associated press After the deadly explosion at the Performance Coal mine in Montcoal, Massey Energy will idle a number of its operations on the basis of safety violations.

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Massey Ceo Blankenship Responds to Questions Surrounding Explosion: ; Coal Chief Says Hell Idle Mines in Question

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