Investigators wait for safe gas levels in W.Va. coal mine before starting explosion probe

Gas levels put W.Va. mine investigation on hold

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Explosive levels of methane gas inside a West Virginia coal mine where 29 miners were killed are keeping investigators from going underground to look for a cause of the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in 40 years, a state official said Wednesday.

The levels of methane gas, which is believed to have played on role in the explosion, need to be lower before investigators can enter, West Virginia mine safety spokeswoman Jama Jarrett said. The gas levels at the mine have been a constant problem since the explosion April 5. Rescue teams searching for four missing miners had to leave the mine several times because they of dangerous gas levels.

Restoring ventilation systems so government investigators can venture inside Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch mine could take up to two weeks, Jarrett said. The blast destroyed numerous concrete block air control walls, and the mine needs to be checked for potential roof collapses.

Massey is expected to drill more boreholes into the mine to help improve ventilation, Jarrett said.

The delay isn’t unusual. It was 24 days before investigators went underground at West Virginia’s Sago mine, where 12 miners died after an explosion in January 2006.

“First and foremost the mine needs to be safe,” Jarrett said. “The methane gas problem is still there.”

Meanwhile, the governor has scheduled a Wednesday afternoon news conference for a major announcement regarding the blast.

Investigators have not begun questioning witnesses, but they have started collecting notes taken by teams sent to search for the miners and recover their bodies, Jarrett said. Records from Massey also are being collected, she said.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has assembled a 14-member team. The state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training, meanwhile, is still putting together its investigative crew. The governor has also appointed a former top federal mine official to conduct a third, independent probe.