Investigations : NPR

Mine Safety In America

Excess Coal Dust Found In Massey Mine

September 17, 2010 • Evidence of the dust surfaced during an investigation into the West Virginia coal mine's explosion in April. Regulations require the removal or neutralization of built-up coal dust because of its explosive nature. Investigators say 79 percent of samples from the mine were not in compliance with federal standards.

Purple Hearts Elusive For Traumatic Brain Injuries

Sgt. Derrick Junge was diagnosed with a concussion, but passed over for a Purple Heart. Junge has not received rehabilitation or treatment for ongoing medical difficulties, and he struggles with simple tasks. NPR/Frontline hide caption

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NPR/Frontline

Brain Wars: How The Military Is Failing Its Wounded

Purple Hearts Elusive For Traumatic Brain Injuries

September 9, 2010 • NPR News/ProPublica Investigation: Army commanders have routinely denied Purple Hearts to soldiers who have sustained mild traumatic brain injuries in Iraq, despite regulations that make such wounds eligible for the medal.

Purple Hearts Elusive For Traumatic Brain Injuries

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Brain Wars: How The Military Is Failing Its Wounded

A History Of The Purple Heart

September 8, 2010 • The first Purple Heart was created by Gen. George Washington in 1782 to recognized meritorious service in combat. But it quickly fell into disuse. Revived in 1932, the medal was changed into a recognition of combat injuries and deaths.

Brain Wars: How The Military Is Failing Its Wounded

Fact Sheet: Traumatic Brain Injury

September 8, 2010 • Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a sudden trauma to the brain caused by force. A severe TBI can leave a person almost incapable of functioning. But even a mild TBI, a concussion, can lead to a range of debilitating symptoms.

Mine Safety In America

Massey Execs' Access To Mine After Blast Questioned

September 2, 2010 • NPR NEWS INVESTIGATION: The two officials were underground, unsupervised for as long as four hours after the explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in April. Massey Energy says the pair were searching for survivors, but some investigators and experts are concerned they could have tampered with evidence.

Massey Execs' Access To Mine After Blast Questioned

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Mine Safety In America

Massey Energy's Entire Response To NPR's Inquiry

September 2, 2010 • NPR's Howard Berkes requested an interview with the two officials discovered to have been in the mine for up to four hours after the coal mine explosion in April. His request was denied, but Massey Energy offered the following answers to his questions via email.

Mine Safety In America

Second Whistle-Blower Complaint For Massey Miner

August 11, 2010 • Ricky Lee Campbell of Beckley, W.Va., is a central figure in the federal criminal investigation that grew out of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in April that left 29 mine workers dead.

Mine Safety In America

Mine Disaster Answers Still Months Away

August 11, 2010 • Federal mine safety officials urged caution in the wake of conflicting reports about the investigation of the April coal mine disaster in West Virginia that left 29 mineworkers dead. Mine owner Massey Energy has tried to present its own theory about the tragedy.

Mine Disaster Answers Still Months Away

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Mine Safety In America

Key Methane Monitors At W.Va. Mine Not Disabled

August 8, 2010 • Testing of two methane monitors from the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia has not detected any evidence of tampering, NPR has learned. The methane monitors were removed from the longwall mining machine believed to be a possible ignition source of the April 5 explosion that killed 29 mine workers.

Methane Monitors Recovered In Mine Blast Probe

August 5, 2010 • Investigators have recovered three key pieces of evidence in the explosion that killed 29 mine workers in West Virginia on April 5, NPR has learned. The evidence includes two safety devices that sound alarms and shut down mining machines when methane gas approaches explosive levels. Investigators want to know whether the devices were a factor in the blast.

Methane Monitors Recovered In Mine Blast Probe

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Mine Safety In America

Massey Tells Families Mine Monitors Not Disabled

August 2, 2010 • In a private briefing for families of the victims, company executives also repeated claims that the massive blast that killed 29 mine workers was caused by natural forces.

Rush Of Gas Caused Mine Blast, Massey Theorizes

Don L. Blankenship, chairman and chief executive officer of Massey Energy Company (left), watches as protesters disrupt a luncheon at the National Press Club, where he spoke on Thursday. Wayne Huang/NPR hide caption

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Wayne Huang/NPR

Mine Safety In America

Rush Of Gas Caused Mine Blast, Massey Theorizes

July 22, 2010 • In twin assaults Thursday, both Massey Energy and CEO Don Blankenship suggested that an "overwhelming" rush of methane gas may have been the cause of a deadly April 5 explosion at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. Mine safety officials are skeptical.

Mine Citations Focus on Ventilation, Fire, Electricity

Mine ventilation issues are critical to running a safe coal mine. Here, a rescuer walks through a blocked tunnel in the Crandall Canyon Mine, northwest of Huntington, Utah, where six coal miners were trapped in 2007. Rick Browmer/AP hide caption

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Rick Browmer/AP

Mine Safety In America

Mine Citations Focus on Ventilation, Fire, Electricity

July 21, 2010 • Citations for safety and health violations by operators of underground coal mines have increased by nearly a third since 2006. An NPR analysis of nearly 80,000 citations written last year found that an accumulation of combustible coal dust was the most frequently cited violation overall, accounting for more than one in 10 citations.

Mine Citations Focus on Ventilation, Fire, Electricity

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Underground Coal Mine Violation Rates, 2009

July 21, 2010 • A mine's violation rate is the citations written by federal inspectors per hour of time they spent inspecting that mine. Rates are displayed in red if they exceed last year's national rate of 0.18. The chart includes mines that produced at least 100,000 tons of coal in 2009. To sort the information, click on any of the chart's headers. Then use the arrow buttons on the bottom to scroll through the results.

Massey Miners: Disabling Monitors Was Common

Methane monitors are mounted on 30-foot-long continuous miners like this one, and other mining machines, to warn coal miners about dangerous levels of explosive methane gas. File photo hide caption

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Mine Safety In America

Massey Miners: Disabling Monitors Was Common

July 16, 2010 • NPR News has learned that a February incident in which a mining machine's methane detector was deliberately disabled was not an isolated incident at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia. Miners who worked in the mine say the practice was relatively common and was justified with false descriptions of mining regulations. A methane explosion in April killed 29 workers.

Massey Miners: Disabling Monitors Was Common

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Friday September 17, 2010

Thursday September 9, 2010

Purple Hearts Elusive For Traumatic Brain Injuries

Wednesday September 8, 2010

Thursday September 2, 2010

Massey Execs' Access To Mine After Blast Questioned

Wednesday August 11, 2010

Mine Disaster Answers Still Months Away

Sunday August 8, 2010

Thursday August 5, 2010

Methane Monitors Recovered In Mine Blast Probe

Monday August 2, 2010

Thursday July 22, 2010

Wednesday July 21, 2010

Mine Citations Focus on Ventilation, Fire, Electricity

Friday July 16, 2010

Massey Miners: Disabling Monitors Was Common