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April 15, 2010

W. Va. Gov Orders Mine Inspections
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In West Virginia, Governor Joe Manchin is calling on mines across the
state to suspend production on Friday to honor the twenty-nine victims
of last week’s mine disaster at the Upper Big Branch Mine. Manchin has
also ordered state inspectors to probe mines cited for repeated
combustion risks within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, the Mining Safety
and Health Administration has revealed the Upper Big Branch Mine was on
a list of forty-eight mines earlier this year deemed to have enough
violations to warrant at least a temporary closure. But regulators
couldn’t take action because a heavy backlog of appeals made it
impossible to establish the necessary finding of the mines having a
“pattern of violations.”



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