Massey Energy: UBB Political Mine Tours Jeopardize and Delay Evidence Collection Process

JULIAN, W.Va., July 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Massey Energy Company (NYSE: MEE) today released the following statement in response to Cecil Roberts with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and political appointees from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) touring sections of the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine before important evidentiary preservation procedures such as photography and mapping have begun:  

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"It is unheard of for MSHA to parade non-technical political operatives through critical areas of the UBB mine without first having key pieces of evidence in these sections properly secured," said Shane Harvey, General Counsel for Massey Energy. "Individuals are literally stepping on potential evidence before it has been photographed, mapped or preserved.  This hampers the ability of investigators to identify key evidentiary facts that can point to the exact cause of the UBB accident."

"Having the leader of the United Mine Workers, whose agenda and rush to judgment desires are well known, tour the mine as nothing more than a gawker before evidence is protected interferes with an investigation that should be based on facts and science."

"By conducting a tour of an accident scene before proper investigatory protocols have been complete, MSHA continues to undermine the integrity of the data collected from UBB," said Don Blankenship, Chairman and CEO of Massey Energy. "Once evidence in key sections of the mine has been documented and preserved, I am looking forward to going underground with investigators.  Our goal all along has been to understand what happened at UBB and learn from it so it never happens again."

Massey Energy Company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia, is the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia and is included in the S&P 500 Index.  

SOURCE Massey Energy Company

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