Zillman writes: "In America's long, dangerous
history of mining, not once has a coal mine owner been charged criminally for a
worker's death. Coal miner fatalities, in some ways, have been considered a
business expense-tragic, but an unavoidable cost in an industry that harvests
the mineral from stubborn earth. All of that changed with the indictment of
Donald Blankenship."
Ex-Massey CEO Don Blankenship speaks to reporters in April 2010, one day after the deadly blast at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. (photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP)
Ex-Massey CEO Faces Criminal Trial for Fatal Mine
Explosion: A First in Coal Country
By
Claire Zillman, Fortune
01 October 15
Not once has an American coal mine owner
been charged for a worker death. Until now.
In America’s long, dangerous history of mining, not once has a coal mine owner been
charged criminally for a worker’s death. Coal miner fatalities, in
some ways, have been considered a business
expense—tragic, but an unavoidable cost in an industry that harvests
the mineral from stubborn earth.
All of that changed with the indictment of Donald Blankenship.
The former CEO of Massey Energy will stand trial on Thursday at a federal court
in Charleston, W.Va. He faces up to 31 years in prison for allegedly conspiring
to violate safety laws and lying to regulators about safety practices at the
Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., where a 2010 explosion killed 29
workers—the nation’s deadliest mining accident in 40 years.
Blankenship is facing criminal charges when other
mining executives have not—in large part—because federal prosecutors say
he was intimately involved in Upper Big Branch’s output to an extraordinary
degree. He demanded reports every half hour on its production—they were sent to
his home by fax on nights and weekends.
“One important factor is there’s a long paper trail
indicating Blankenship’s deep involvement in minute decision-making in
individual mines in the Massey empire,” says Patrick McGinley, a law professor
at West Virginia University who worked on an independent investigation of the
2010 accident. The level of detail that Blankenship demanded from his
subordinates isn’t something you find from a chairman of the board or CEO of
many major corporations—coal or otherwise, McGinley says.
Because of Blankenship’s extensive knowledge of the
day-to-day operations of Upper Big Branch, federal prosecutors have sought to
hold him personally responsible for the 835 violations of federal
mine safety standards they found at the mine from January 2008 through the time
of the fatal explosion.
On April 5, 2010, methane gas infiltrated the Upper Big Branch mine 1,200 feet
underground. When a longwall shearer—or cutting machine—penetrated
the mine’s roof, it served as a fuse, lighting airborne coal dust that served
as fuel and triggering successive blasts that tore through miles of the mine,
asphyxiating some miners and pummeling others against the cavern’s walls and
roof.
An investigation by the Mine Safety and Health
Administration in November 2011 reached a conclusion similar to
those of two other inquiries—that the 29 miners perished because Massey disregarded
hazards that resulted from “a series of basic safety violations at [Upper Big
Branch]” that were “entirely preventable.”
The indictment of Blankenship
that a federal grand jury handed down in November 2014 characterizes him as a
money-hungry executive who micromanaged Upper Big Branch to grow profits, even
if it meant disregarding safety measures.
“Blankenship knew that [Upper Big Branch] was
committing hundreds of safety law violations every year and that he had the
ability to prevent most of the violations that [Upper Big Branch] was
committing,” the indictment says. “Yet he fostered and participated in an
understanding that perpetuated [Upper Big Branch’s] practice of routine safety
violations, in order to produce more coal, avoid the costs of following safety
laws, and make money.”
Under Blankenship’s leadership, there was a scheme at
Upper Big Branch to warn underground workers when federal mine safety inspectors
were on their way to examine underground areas of the mine. “[I]t was standard
practice for a guard to radio the Upper Big Branch mine office … to warn
employees in the mine that the inspectors were on their way,” according to the
indictment. Then underground supervisors would “direct miners to quickly cover
up violations of mandatory federal mine safety standards that the mine
routinely committed.”
The indictment points to instances in which
Blankenship allegedly exhibited disregard for workers’ safety. In November
2009, a section of the mine flooded and a federal mine safety inspector issued
a shutdown order out of fear that miners could drown as they walked through the
four feet of murky water. After the section had been idle for some time because
the flooding prevented safety examinations, Blankenship ordered production to
start again. When an executive resisted, Blankenship chastised him for “letting
[the Mine Safety and Health Administration] run his mines.”
Blankenship, who’s credited with transforming
Massey into an industry giant, stepped down as CEO with a $12 million retirement package in
December 2010 just before Alpha Natural Resources’ $7.1 billion acquisition of
the company. He has denied wrongdoing and maintains that an inexplicable
flood of natural gas caused the deadly blast. His lawyer, William Taylor III,
declined to comment.
Alpha Natural Resources paid $209 million in criminal
penalties related to the explosion to settle with the Department of Justice
in 2011, and two of Blankenship’s subordinates
have already pled guilty to criminal charges. His lawyer, William
Taylor III, declined to comment.
There’s a sense of anticipation of Blankenship’s trial
in West Virginia, McGinley says. But the jury’s verdict is almost secondary to
the fact that he is being prosecuted in the first place.
The indictment has helped chip away at a longstanding
culture that doesn’t hold mining companies responsible for workers deaths or
injuries, McGinley says. The prosecution, along with more vigorous, surprise
safety examinations of mines, “is a deterrence to future conduct—not just with
regard to the person who’s been indicted but it’s sent a message to similarly
situated corporate managers that flouting the law can have consequences even
when historically it never has,” he says. “Whether that’s a lasting message,
that has yet to be determined.”
C 2015 Reader Supported News
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