House, Senate to hold hearings on W.Va. mine explosion, improving mine health and safety laws

House, Senate to hold hearings on mine explosion

WASHINGTON — Both the House and Senate plan to hold hearings examining possible causes of the explosion that killed 29 workers at a West Virginia coal mine.

West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd says he wants the hearings to assess the state of mine health and safety laws and determine what lawmakers can do to avoid future loss of life. Byrd calls it “infuriating” that such a disaster could still happen and says the country has laws and resources to keep similar tragedies from happening again.

Byrd says lawmakers will give serious scrutiny to the practices of Massey Energy Co., given the large number of safety violations at the Upper Big Branch Mine where the explosion occurred. Lawmakers plan to wait until rescue efforts are over before setting a date for hearings.