Saturday, August 07, 2010
Methane Monitors Being Tested
WEST VIRGINIA...
Mine safety officials may tell the families of 29 men killed at the Upper Big Branch mine as early as Tuesday whether methane monitors had been disabled before the April explosion in southern West Virginia.
Two methane monitors were recently removed from the longwall mining machine — one of the potential sources of the blast — along with a data recorder that functions like an airplane's black box, said Kevin Stricklin, safety chief for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
The devices will be inspected at an MSHA facility in Triadelphia, he said. Together, they could tell investigators whether employees of Virginia-based Massey Energy tampered with methane monitors designed to sound alarms and shut off equipment when explosive gases reach dangerous levels. Massey has repeatedly denied the monitors were shut off and met with families Monday to reassert that claim.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 12:27 PM 
