Federal inspectors issued 272 citations, 37 orders and two safeguards to 16 coalmines during special impact inspections conducted last month, The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, announced.
Of those 16 coalmines cited, six of them were in West Virginia: Mountaineer Pocahontas Mine No. 1, in Greenbrier County, controlled by John B. Preece; Maple Eagle No. 1 Mine, in Fayette County, controlled by Walter Energy Incorporated; Randolph Mine, and Justice #1, both located in Boone County and controlled by Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.; Upper Cedar Grove No. 4, in Logan County, controlled by Joe Valis; and Dingess Chilton Mine, in Logan County, controlled by Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.
In total, West Virginia coalmines accounted for 68 citations and 18 orders. Of the issuances given, 39 of them were “S&S,” or “significant and substantial.”
The MSHA website states that violations likely to cause reasonably serious injury (so-called "significant and substantial" violations) are assessed according to a formula that considers six factors:
History of previous violations; size of the operator's business; any negligence by the operator; gravity of the violation; the operator's good faith in trying to correct the violation promptly; and effect of the penalty on the operator's ability to stay in business.
These factors are determined from the inspector's findings, MSHA records, and information supplied by the operator.
The number of “S&S” violations each mine received last month is as follows:
Mountaineer Pocahontas Mine No. 1 - five; Maple Eagle No. 1 Mine - one; Randolph Mine - six; Justice #1 - six; Upper Cedar Grove No. 4 - nine; Dingess Chilton Mine: 12.
According to MSHA, an Aug. 19 inspection at Upper Cedar Grove No. 4 resulted in a total of seven citations and eight orders, nine of which were designated as significant and substantial.
Six unwarrantable failure closure orders and one unwarrantable failure citation involved violations related to ventilation, the mine’s emergency response plan, and unsafe conditions and practices that arose from a lack of proper and complete examinations.