Vol. 71/No. 13      April 2, 2007

On Jan. 2, 2006, an explosion ripped through the Sago Mine around 6:30 a.m. One miner was killed in the blast. Eleven others died of suffocation from toxic gases after being trapped in the mine for more than 40 hours. One worker survived.

"Twelve men are dead today who should not be," UMWA president Cecil Roberts said at the press conference. Roberts was joined by members of the dead miners' families.

"My dad survived the explosion," said Sara Bailey, daughter of miner George Junior Hamner. "The others should have been able to walk out of the mine that day."

"We strongly disagree with the conclusions of the company and West Virginia mine authorities that lightening was the source of this explosion," Roberts said. The union's investigation determined that the most likely cause of the blast was frictional activity from the mine roof, roof support, or material creating an electrical arc that ignited the explosive methane mixture in a sealed-off section of the mine, Roberts said.

The report cites testimony from company officials, miners, and a state inspector showing that the sealed section of the mine where the explosion likely originated had been abandoned because of deteriorating roof conditions. It cites testimony from mine superintendent Jeff Toler who said there were at least two roof falls in the section, one of them more than 100-feet long.

Roberts said the mine had no rescue team available, even though the law requires two rescue teams on site. Instead, four mine officials entered the mine 15 minutes after the blast to repair ventilation controls. They reached a section of the mine just 20 feet from the trapped miners but turned back due to toxic gas readings. The first trained rescue team did not go into the mine until 10 hours after the explosion.

The report calls for a permanent ban on Omega Blocks, a foam-type material used to construct barriers that seal off abandoned sections of a mine. Omega Blocks used at Sago were obliterated in the explosion. They were also destroyed in a similar blast in the Darby mine in Harlan, Kentucky, on May 20, 2006, which killed five miners. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has temporarily banned use of the material.

The UMWA report proposes that mine operators be required to install explosion-proof fire-resistant shelters in the mines, with a dedicated communication line to the surface and enough air, water, food, and medical supplies for at least five days.

Such a chamber saved the lives of 72 miners trapped underground for more than 30 hours last year at a potash mine, which is organized by a union, in Saskatchewan, Canada.

In March the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health and Training ordered mine owners to submit plans for safety chambers by April 15. In a March 8 order, MSHA did not require such chambers but did require mine owners to provide emergency air supplies that could last four days.  
 
 
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