As the New York Times reports, the Upper Big Branch mine owned by Massey had a serious history of safety violations - and workers were evacuated three times in the past two months for dangerously high methane levels:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/us/07westvirginia.html?hp. Naturally Don Blankenship, the CEO of the Company denies that there were any issues, and, incredibly, shifts the blame to the government, claiming that "the Mine Safety and Health Administration would never have allowed the mine to operate if it had been unsafe." He also claims that safety violations are nothing more than a normal part of the mining process. Huh? The MSHA levied massive fines against this mine, fines which the company fought and appealed at every turn. What Blankenship really means is that worker safety - or lack thereof - is simply a cost of doing business for the company. With 2.9 billion in revenue in 2009, what's a few million in fines per year for safety and environmental violations?
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