The first death in the quarter, and ninth for the year, occurred in the morning of July 28 at Catenary Coal’s Samples mine in West Virginia.

According to the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, 28-year-old Mark Gray, who had six years experience in the industry and had been at the minesite for three months, was killed at the now-closed Patriot Coal operation when the loaded articulated dump truck he was operating in reverse overturned into a newly constructed sediment pond.

Gray was a contractor for Hawkeye Construction in Kentucky. Investigators would detail later that the worker missed a curve while backing up and drowned after the Volvo A-30-D lizard truck went over an embankment and fell into the pond.

In late November, the state’s Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training announced that alcohol was a factor and that the vehicle was traveling at a high speed.

Investigators noted that the machine, which had a 28-ton payload capacity, was not overloaded and that a pre-shift inspection report showed no defects on the machine. The unit’s onboard computer, or ECM, was damaged in the incident so no data could be downloaded.

A toxicology report from the state’s chief medical examiner found that Gray had had a blood alcohol level of 0.08% and there was trace evidence of marijuana.

“One opened, empty, 12-ounce beer can was found inside the … cab by OMHST and MSHA inspectors after the haul truck was retrieved from the pond,” inspectors for the state office said.

“[The] foreman stated that on two previous workdays he had detected what he believed to be the odor of alcohol on Mark Allen Gray’s breath [and] security guard Joetta Bowling, who was employed by Appalachian Security, stated that she witnessed Mark Allen Gray placing unopened cans of beer in his lunch box at the start of a recent workday.”

Bowling, the agency added, did not relay the information to Hawkeye Construction management.

WVOMHST director Ron Wooten said that both the foreman, Phillip Rife, and Bowling were individually cited along with the companies.

"We regard intoxication in the workplace as an imminent danger," he said.

"And anyone, whether it's a supervisor, fellow employee, security guard or anyone else who allows that individual to stay in the workplace without doing anything about it is going to be held responsible."

State investigators cited Hawkeye for violation of state regulations prohibiting individuals from carrying intoxicants onto minesites or entering mine property under the influence. The contracting company was also cited for not following safe work practices because Rife allowed Gray to continue working despite smelling alcohol.

Appalachian Security, meanwhile, was issued a violation for not taking action when the unopened beer can was seen.

Hawkeye Contracting president Mitch Potter defended his company to the Charleston Gazette in November, pointing out that it did not permit employees to drink on the job.

"We are a very reputable company [and] we have routine drug testing,” he said.

“When I have 300 employees, how do I keep a man from showing up drunk?"

Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety member Gary Trout told the paper the foreman could have prevented the incident.

"If that individual had done their job, we might not be sitting here looking at this fatality report," he said.

A final federal investigation report is pending.

About a month later, the 10th death in the industry occurred in Virginia, when 58-year-old repairman Wayne Parrott was killed in a rib roll incident at the Big Laurel underground mine in Wise County.

MSHA said the August 20 event occurred at 6.18am local time on the 002 beltline at the Cumberland Resources operation.

Parrott, who had 33 years of experience, had worked at Big Laurel for four years. It was the first coal death in Virginia in over a year.

“A crew working about 12,000 feet into the mine was cutting out an area to install a belt drive to transport coal,” Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy public relations manager Mike Abbott said. “Some of the coal and rock hit the miner.”

MSHA spokesperson Amy Louviere said a federal 103(j) order – a directive given to mines to withdraw crews after an incident where rescue and recovery work is necessary – was issued and that a full federal investigation would commence immediately. The agency also mandated a 103(k) order to halt production, a directive that would end up suspending mine work for days longer than the standard 24 hours.

Louviere told ILN the Monday following the incident that the order was still in place and that there was no indication of how much longer the mine would be closed.

“It [the order] was modified to allow examinations,” she said, noting that other work such as pump checking was also being performed.

“[There has been] no production or work on either section. We have two inspectors at the mine today looking at both sections and evaluating rib/roof conditions.”

Abbott told ILN the same day that the state department had completed interviews with workers who might have had relevant information for the investigation.

“DMME Division of Mines also completed their investigation of the accident scene and spot inspections of the mine on Friday,” he added, noting that it had teamed up with MSHA on its evaluation of the incident.

Both state and federal officials said just after the accident that a final report on Parrott’s death could take months. One week later, however, Virginia Division of Mines chief inspector Frank Linkous shed some light on the situation, telling ILN that its preliminary investigation was complete and that citations would be assessed to the mine owner.

The direct cause of the rib roll at the No. 2 mine was known, he said – rock left behind after crews cut away at the rib for a new beltline was weak in the area, and consequently fell because of some sloughing.

While Parrott was in the area to place supports, none of the other workers in the section at the time actually witnessed the accident, thus it may never be known if he was actually performing the duty at the time.

Regardless, Linkous said the agency had met with officials for Cumberland Resources and that the mine would remain idle until the operator could amend and receive approval on its roof control plan. The state required additional control measures in the plan that specifically outline bracket installations as well as rib belting in certain areas.

“We have a roof specialist up there today looking at the concept support technology we want to consider to provide additional safety measures,” Linkous noted to local media.

“We want to be in a position to know we did all we can to prevent a similar occurrence from happening, about how we deal with that particular hazard and do it with technology to provide more protection.”

While he said there certainly would be citations handed down in the incident, Linkous declined to elaborate or speculate on MSHA’s plans. He did note, however, that state inspectors had so far seen nothing reckless or willful that would be cause for litigation related to the mine’s processes.

“We will have citations, I will say that,” he told local newspaper the Kingsport Times-News.

“Some will be associated with the accident itself, but we’re also looking at the entire mine.”

Linkous said the state’s report and that of MSHA would be independent of one another and publicly released as separate documents. It is not known when the state’s report will be completed.

Big Laurel No. 2, which produces about 3200 raw tons daily, employs 60 workers: 25 on the day shift, 16 on the second and 19 on the third.

According to MSHA statistics, the operation had three NFDL operator injuries in 2008 for a total NFDL incidence rate of 4.76 for the year. As of the end of MSHA’s first reporting quarter, the mine had reported two NFDL operator injuries for 2009.

Federal records show the controller of the mine as Virginia-based Richard Gilliam. A final investigation report from MSHA is pending.

The 11th coal death happened in Alabama just days later on September 5, when an unidentified 47-year-old rock truck operator struck a gate post near the entrance of Twin Pines Coal’s Shannon operation with his personal pickup truck.

“The victim was leaving the mine at the end of his shift when he attempted to pass another vehicle that was also leaving the mine,” federal officials said.

“The victim lost control of the vehicle and struck the [6-inch] gate post.”

While a final report from MSHA is still in progress, the agency did release a fatalgram shortly after the incident to provide best practices techniques for other operations to prevent similar scenarios. The recommendations included always wearing a seat belt when operating trucks and automobiles, both personal and for work, and to observe prudent driving and operating practices to maintain control of the vehicle.

The final death of the quarter, and 12th in the nation in 2009, was due to a slip/fall incident at an Illinois operation. The mine was under construction at the time of the September 23 event, in which a 38-year-old contractor was killed.

According to MSHA, Cowin Company employee Robert Comer III was working on a raised work deck in the shaft at the Sugar Creek M-Class Mining MC No. 1 operation, which was in development and not yet in production.

“Mr Comer and other employees were in the process of rigging out from a concrete pour and were getting ready to move the work deck, in which [he] and other employees removed a metal grate from the decking to allow the concrete pouring tube to be removed up the shaft,” county coroner Marty Leffler told the Benton Evening News of the incident, which occurred at about 9.44pm local time.

“[He] had apparently unharnessed and turned around and fell 39 feet down the shaft.”

MC No. 1 is controlled by the Cline Group.

MSHA released best practices for mines in an October 1 fatalgram regarding Comer’s death, reminding miners to always use fall protection. It also recommended that workers use the SLAM technique – Stop, Look, Analyze and Manage – for hazard prevention on work tasks.

The agency’s final report on the incident has not yet been released.

As of December 15, there have been 17 coal-related fatalities recorded at US coal operations. Two have occurred underground with the rest at surface mines or at the surface facilities of underground mines.

Keep reading ILN for a review of all coal-related deaths in the US this year, including incident details, investigation findings and associated state and federal fines.