APNewsBreak: Computer error prevented WV mine from getting warning letter on safety violations

APNewsBreak: Computer error affected mine scrutiny

WASHINGTON — A federal mine safety official tells The Associated Press that the coal mine where 29 workers died in an explosion last week should have received a warning letter in October about a potential pattern of safety violations.

But a computer program that screens mines for violation patterns failed to include eight citations at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia.

If they had been included, the Mine Safety and Health Administration would have notified the mine and given the operator 90 days to improve safety conditions.

MSHA director Joe Main says it turns out the mine ended up dramatically reducing its violations by more than 60 percent anyway. He says the computer programming error “did not have an impact in this tragedy.”