Mining Company Cited in Deadly Explosions

Federal regulators cited a mining company Wednesday for numerous safety violations in an accident that killed 13 coal miners last year, the worst U.S. mine accident since 1984.

The 27 citations against Jim Walter Resources Inc. carry a maximum fine of $1.5 million, but Dave Lauriski of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said the agency had yet to assess a penalty.

Eight of the violations were major and contributed to a pair of explosions and the deaths at Blue Creek No. 5, Lauriski said. The mine, in Brookwood, Ala., is the continent’s deepest vertical-shaft coal mine at 2,140 feet.

The company disagreed with “significant portions” of the administration’s report on the Sept. 23, 2001, accident, said spokesman Kyle Parks.

“We’re going to be giving them more information we hope will cause them to come to a different conclusion,” Parks said.

Key violations were the company’s failure to evacuate the mine after four men were injured in the first explosion and its failure to prevent buildup of combustible coal dust in the mine, regulators said. Dust buildup, Lauriski said, was a major factor in the second explosion.

The second blast occurred about an hour after the first one, killing miners sent to rescue the four injured men.

The company also was cited for inadequate supports of the mine roof, which collapsed to cause the first explosion; inadequate safety checks; and a failure to conduct fire drills.

Jim Walter Resources had 31 outstanding safety violations at the time of the accident, but the company contends that all of the critical problems had been fixed before the blasts.

The United Mine Workers of America has said that federal regulators contributed to the accident by inadequate oversight and that an internal review is being conducted to determine whether the agency’s actions played a role.

The agency will issue broader emergency regulations to make clear that a mine must be evacuated after an explosion that poses an “imminent danger” to workers, Lauriski said.

Jim Walter Resources is being sued for negligence by relatives of 10 of the 13 victims.

The widow of miner Raymond Ashworth said the citations would not do anything to ease the pain over the death of her husband.

“They cannot right 13 deaths,” Kathy Ashworth said after a private briefing by regulators for the victims’ relatives.