Detector bypassed before W.Va. coal disaster
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BECKLEY, W.Va. -- An electrician at the Upper Big Branch mine, scene of a disastrous explosion that killed 29 miners, confirmed that he was ordered to bypass the methane detector on a piece of mining equipment -- an action that has become part of an ongoing federal criminal probe growing out of the disaster.
The detector was on a continuous mining machine four miles from the origins of the explosion and that piece was not thought to have played a role in the explosion. Investigators, however, are now looking to see if the practice of bypassing the detectors had happened in other areas of the mine, something that could point to wider questions about safety practices at the mine.
Micah Ragland, spokesman for Massey Energy, owner of the mine, confirmed Wednesday night that someone had bridged the methane monitor.
"I've worked for probably six or eight coal companies. They're all the same. They all do the same practices. It's not something that was new, it was just new to me," said George Holtzapfel, who now faces subpoenas in the investigation.
Federal investigators first learned of the monitor bridging from Ricky Lee Campbell, a former Upper Big Branch miner who was fired from his job at another Massey mine after he publicly criticized safety practices at Upper Big Branch. Massey lawyers said Mr. Campbell was fired for violating a safety rule at the company's Marfork Coal Co. Department of Labor officials last month won temporary reinstatement of Mr. Campbell after an administrative law judge ruled that he had been fired in retaliation for speaking out.
According to Mr. Campbell's version of events, he and two other miners at Upper Big Branch saw a supervisor instruct Mr. Holtzapfel to run a wire that would bypass a methane detector on a continuous mining machine on Feb. 13 -- seven weeks before the blast.
The detectors are designed to automatically turn off a machine once methane reaches a certain level. With the detector bypassed, the machine would continue operating regardless of methane levels.
Mr. Campbell's account said that Mr. Holtzapfel protested the order, calling it improper, but was forced to make the bridge.
First Published July 15, 2010 12:00 am
