So you really think not having a rigorous safety and compliance management software system doesn’t matter? Just ask Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy, who was sentenced Wednesday, April 6th, 2016 to one year in federal prison for safety lapses connected to a deadly West Virginia coal mine explosion.
A jury in federal court convicted Blankenship in December of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards, connected to an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in 2010 that killed 29 men. One year in prison was the maximum sentence for the misdemeanor charge. Putting the former chief executive officer of a major corporation in prison sends a message that violating mine safety laws is a serious crime and those who break those laws will be held accountable.
The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010, roughly 1,000 feet (300 m) underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. The coal dust explosion occurred at 3:27 pm. The accident was the worst in the United States since 1970, when 38 miners were killed at Finley Coal Company’s No. 15 and 16 mines in Hyden, Kentucky. A state-funded independent investigation would later find Massey Energy directly responsible for the blast.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released its final report on December 6, 2011, concluding that flagrant safety violations contributed to the explosion. It issued 369 citations at that time, assessing $10.8 million in penalties.
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