INTRO
UBB CONDITIONS
MUSIC BREAK
The Effects of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster on the Appalachian Coal Fields Region
By: Jacob Lampkin
The Upper Big Branch Mine is a large scale longwall coal mine located in Montcoal, West Virginia which is seated in Raleigh County. The Upper Big Branch mine is owned by Massey Energy and operated by the Performance Coal Company. The April 5, 2010 tragedy resulted in the death of 29 miners while two others were hurt. Much speculation occurred over the true cause of the incident, in reality the incident occurred because of several safety hazards. Poor ventilation allowed methane to build at the longwall face. Inadequate water supply to the longwall shearer created a spark which subsequently led to the massive explosion. Since the disaster, there has been much social, economic, and political unrest in the Appalachian coalfields region. That being said, coal mining in Appalachia as been effected in numerous ways. Ways in which will leave a mark on the coal industry in Appalachia forever.
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Many regulations were broken prior to the UBB explosion.
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Performance Coal and Massey Energy promoted and enforced coal production over mine safety.
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The Upper Big Branch Mine was fined 57 times by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and 7 times by the state of West Virginia leading up to the tragedy in 2010.
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Methane ventilation was the main failure at the mine.
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There were many intentional and aggressive instances where Performance Coal and Massey Energy avoided safety and health regulations imposed by MSHA.
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The Mine Safety and Health Administration deemed violated safety regulations at the mine led to the overall tragedy at UBB.
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MSHA projected that many of the miners at the Upper Big Branch mine were inadequately trained nor taught proper safety precautions leading up to the tragedy.
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The MSHA also found that pre shift examinations, which were devised to identify problems before they became disasters, were "failures".
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Communication with workers at the mine also were hazardous. Miners were treated on a "need to know" basis in respect to safety conditions inside the mine.
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Officials at MSHA reinforce the need to promote positive safety culture and the need to extensively regulate safety conditions within coal mines to ensure tragedies of this measure cease to exist.
Long wall miner:
https://imgur.com/gallery/pAwI6
Music has always spoken volumes to me in relation to any issue. I believe the following song goes hand in hand with conditions not only in the Upper Big Branch mine, but also coal mines across the United States. I believe the song does a phenomenal job describing the personal experiences of coal miners as well.