
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 18, 1993                   TAG: 9308180164
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: STATE  
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BIG STONE GAP                                LENGTH: Medium

MINE HIT WITH TOP FINE

Southmountain Coal Co. and a mine operator must pay $400,000 for violations that contributed to an underground explosion that killed eight men, the Mine Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday.

Southmountain and operator William Ridley Elkins also were fined $39,172 for mine law violations that didn't contribute to the accident.

"MSHA investigators found violations caused by a high degree of negligence and in several instances reckless disregard for the nation's mining laws," said Edward C. Hugler, acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.

"The amount of the fines, the maximum allowed under the law for the eight violations that contributed to the accident, attest to the seriousness of the violations and our commitment to see that the nation's miners work under safe conditions," he said in a statement.

MSHA can fine mine operators up to $50,000 for each contributory violation.

In a report of the explosion released May 26, MSHA said gas built up to combustible levels because the operators failed to properly ventilate the mine and that a miner carrying cigarettes ignited the explosion with a butane lighter.

Because of inadequate methane examinations, company officials failed to detect the gas buildup. Miners also failed to adequately control coal dust in the air that increased the force of the blast, the report said.

MSHA jointly cited Southmountain and Elkins for 33 violations of federal mine safety standards uncovered during the five-month investigation.

The explosion in Southmountain Coal Co.'s No. 3 mine near Norton on Dec. 7 was Virginia's worst mining disaster in 34 years.

The federal agency's conclusions are nearly identical to those in an investigative report released by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy released May 12.

The state report said 13 violations of state mining regulations contributed to the explosion, and the lighter was cited as the ignition source.

There are no civil penalties in state mining law.

Mine operators may contest MSHA's civil penalties before the Federal Mine Safety and Review Commission, an independent agency.

Elkins' attorney, Jeff Sturgill of Wise, said they will appeal the fines. Southmountain attorney Jack Kennedy was in court late Tuesday and unavailable for comment.

Keywords:
FATALITY

Memo: ***CORRECTION***

by CNB