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Upper Big Branch Coal Mine Disaster Case Study

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Upper Big Branch Coal Mine Disaster Case Study
Today, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship will turn himself into police custody to immediately start a one year sentence for his involvement in the Upper Big Branch coal mine disaster. How does a CEO of a company end up in jail for what appeared as a tragic accident?
On April 5th, 2010 in a West Virginia coal mine owned by Massey Energy Company and operated by Performance Coal Company an explosion would claim the lives of twenty-nine miners and shed light on the many workplace safety violations. Rescue attempts made to recover the bodies of the miners were placed on hold due to the high methane levels, determined to be the cause of the explosion. The Mine Safety and Health Administration investigators had to wait two months before
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