From the Assistant Secretary's Desk — Corrective Action Plan: Upper Big Branch Mine-South Internal Review
From the Desk of the Assistant Secretary
Starting today, we are posting on our website information concerning the corrective actions MSHA is taking in response to the recommendations of the internal review of MSHA's actions at the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine in West Virginia in the months leading up to the April 5, 2010 catastrophic explosion. By providing this information, we intend to keep the mining community, interested parties and the public informed of the actions we are taking and the timeline for completing them. MSHA will be posting this information on a quarterly basis.
As I have said on a number of occasions, the tragedy at UBB, which resulted in the deaths of 29 miners and injuries to 2 others, unquestionably shook the very foundation of mine safety and caused us all to take a deeper look at the weaknesses in the safety net expected to protect the nation's miners. It caused us to re-double our efforts to instill a culture of prevention in mining. There has been an intense examination of that tragedy, and MSHA has undergone significant change as we have sought to find and fix deficiencies in mine safety and health. Our corrective actions are one part of MSHA's ongoing efforts to implement and enforce the nation's mine safety laws and to improve health and safety conditions in the nation's mines so miners in this country can go to work, do their jobs, and return home to their families safe and healthy at the end of every shift.
Additional Information
Corrective Action Plan: Upper Big Branch Mine-South Internal Review (As of 6/26/2012)
