Massey Energy, the West Va. coal company, is being investigated by the FBI for bribery and potential violations of federal securities laws.
On Monday, April 5, 2010, an underground explosion occurred at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia causing 29 miners' wrongful deaths. The Wall Street Journal reported that although the cause of the explosion had not yet been determined, federal mine-safety officials suspected that something ignited methane gas which had built up in the mine.
According to the WSJ, the Mine Safety and Health Administration's website, 35 violations issued for the Upper Big Branch mine were deemed significant and substantial. The agency defines a significant and substantial violation as one “reasonably likely to result in a reasonably serious injury or illness.”
The agency said on its Web site that the mine’s operator, Massey subsidiary Performance Coal Co., allowed combustible materials to accumulate in the mine and failed to follow its own plan for maintaining adequate ventilation and controlling methane levels.
The investigation is focusing on whether a series of statements made by Massey Energy regarding the safety of its mines and operations were materially false and misleading.
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