Manchin has appointed the panel and McAteer will begin compiling a team this week to assist him in a review of the events that led up to the April 5 explosion at the Massey Energy operation in Raleigh County.
McAteer, who led MSHA under the administration of former US President Bill Clinton, also led Manchin’s panel investigations into the Sago and Aracoma mine accidents in 2006. He is currently vice-president of Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.
“We owe it to the families of the 29 miners we lost last week to find out what caused this … and we owe it to them and every coal miner working today to do everything humanly possible to prevent this from happening again,” Manchin said.
“Davitt has the experience and knowledge to lead what will be a complex and extensive investigation into this horrible accident. We made tremendous progress in 2006 immediately following the Sago and Aracoma accidents and I fully expect that we will learn even more from this and make dramatic changes to protect our miners.”
McAteer said that while the panel was independent, it would work with state and federal officials to gather facts about the accident as well as the events leading up to it.
“This will be an independent review of the accident and the agencies and we will put together our recommendations on what we can do to improve mine safety overall and prevent another accident like this,” he said.
Manchin told the Associated Press Tuesday that West Virginia could respond to the events at Upper Big Branch by looking at other operations that might have hazards similar to those which played a role in last week’s explosion.
While an official cause has yet to be determined, Manchin told the news service that methane gas, coal dust or both had fueled the blast, which appeared to have killed the workers before self-contained self-rescuers or refuge chambers could be utilized.
He is seeking scrutiny of mines that have a record of related violations, and wants the state to be able to target those with the most serious violations to shut them down or order immediate fixes without the delays of legal proceedings. Manchin told the AP his administration was reviewing the additional measures required to ensure this could be done.
The Upper Big Branch explosion is the worst US coal mining disaster in four decades.
