Investigation By The U.S. Department of Labor
On January 4, 2006, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, announced that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) would launch a full investigation to determine the cause, and to "take the necessary steps to ensure that this never happens again." The MSHA issued its own release announcing an independent eight-member team that would conduct the investigation including the cause of the explosion, compliance with regulations and the handling of information on the trapped miners' condition. The team would examine the site, interview mine personnel and others with information, review records and plans, inspect any equipment involved and issue any citations for violations. The MHSA site reiterated its team will be headed up by a senior MSHA safety professional who has not been part of the initial inspection and enforcement efforts." On January 9, 2006, David G. Dye, acting assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, announced that "MSHA joins Governor Manchin and the State of West Virginia in announcing that we will conduct a joint investigation into the Sago Mine disaster, which will include a joint public hearing. West Virginia has its own mine safety inspection and enforcement agency, and we want to coordinate closely to ensure that our investigation is thorough and complete...Our full investigative report will also be made available to the families and the public."
It was announced that Richard A. Gates, MSHA district manager in Birmingham, Alabama, would head the team of technical experts. Others would be ventilation experts John Urosek and Richard Stoltz, ventilation supervisor Dennis Swentosky; electrical supervisor Robert Bates, field office supervisor Joseph O'Donnell, engineer Clete Stephan, and special investigator Gary Harris.
Read more about this topic: Sago Mine Disaster
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