Memorial Service for Upper Big Branch Mine disaster victims, April 2010. Photo by Matt Sullivan
Safety violations cited in deaths of 29 miners
A FEDERAL GRAND jury handed down an indictment November 14 charging former Massey Energy CEO Donald Blankenship with four criminal counts related to mine safety violations and securities fraud.
Blankenship ran Massey Energy in 2010 when an explosion rocked the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, W. Va., killing 29 miners. He retired less than a year later.
According to the indictment, “Blankenship knew that UBB was committing hundreds of safety-law violations every year and that he had the ability to prevent most of the violations that UBB was committing. Yet he fostered and participated in an understanding that perpetuated UBB’s practice of routine safety violations, in order to produce more coal, avoid the costs of following safety laws, and make more money.”
Blankenship could face up to 31 years in prison if convicted.
