West Virginia Coal Mines

The day after the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine, the headline read, "West Virginia mine owner accused of putting safety second." There's a basic understatement.

With 1,342 safety violations over the past five years cited by the US Mine Safety and Health Administration against the Massey Energy Company, Monday's explosion was the accident waiting to happen. Being uber-conscientious, their lawyers contested 422 of those violations and reduced their fine from 1.89 million dollars to $784.830. But little changed after that.

That they would have had to contest anything does not bode well for the company whose executives' bedrooms are probably larger than many of the miners' houses. As recently as March 30, the company, whose mines are operated by the Performance Coal Company, was cited for inadequate ventilation among other safety violations that most likely led to Monday's methane gas explosion. Rescuers reported that the impact, that killed twenty-five men, was so strong that the underground railroad tracks were "twisted like pretzels."

Had the head honchos at both companies treated their employees, dare I say, normally with adequate ventilation and working conditions, then Benny Willingham and all those other men would be alive today. Set to retire in five weeks, the 62 year-old miner was going take his wife on a cruise to the Virgin Islands.

I hope that the families sue both companies and that their executives have to testify before a senate subcommittee before being consigned to those mines and the dangers they helped create. It will never bring anyone back, but it may provide some form of justice and relief.