According to a statement filed last week with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the unnamed foreman was at an operation owned by Massey subsidiary Long Fork Coal on January 6 and was observed working near the edge of a 75-foot highwall without a safety belt and line.
No injuries were reported.
Imminent danger orders are issued by the US Mine Safety and Health Administration under section 107(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, also known as the Mine Act.
Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act, amended last July, now requires disclosure of all imminent danger incidents as part of new reporting requirements regarding mine safety.
Massey has a total of 47 mines in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and Tennessee, and holds 2.3 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves.
The company’s investigation into the Upper Big Branch explosion last April is still ongoing, as is MSHA’s probe. The producer held a safety stand-down late last year to focus on potential hazards at all of its mines and facilities.
