Inadequate response to blast

The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, W. Va.: Everyone agrees that it’s a shame 29 miners lost their lives in April 2010 when an explosion ripped through Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County.

While mining inherently is fraught with dangers, separate investigations determined this particular explosion — the deadliest in mining in four decades — was sparked by worn and broken equipment, fueled by accumulations of methane gas and coal dust, and able to spread because of water sprayers that didn’t work.

The tragedy was so great that it would seem after three years, steps would be in place to help prevent a repeat. But so far, work to guard against a similar accident is either incomplete or non-existent at different levels of government. That’s perhaps a greater shame.

Lack of response

As the three-year anniversary of the explosion was observed, several lawmakers decried the lack of response by Congress to enact new mechanisms to protect miners using the lessons learned from Upper Big Branch.