Did mine owner put safety second?

WASHINGTON - Massey Energy has been cited for repeated mine safety violations in recent years, racking up 600 violations in less than a year and a half, some of them for not properly ventilating methane -- the highly combustible gas suspected in the blast that killed at least 25 workers.

Federal prosecutors also have brought two criminal complaints for violation of worker protection rules at other mines run by the company, the nation's sixth biggest coal mining firm.

Massey officials say they have an above average safety record, receiving awards for their performance at individual mines. Last October, Massey President Baxter Phillips touted company safety awards and said, "We are very proud of this accomplishment and our members who work so hard to make Massey's mines among the safest in the industry."

But Davitt McAteer, former head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said Tuesday that "that company has had a very checkered past when it came to safety."

"They placed profits over safety repeatedly," says Tonya Hatfield, a lawyer who sued Massey in cases resulting from a 2006 fire at the Aracoma mine, where 12 miners were trapped and two died. In that case the company agreed to pay $2.5 million in criminal fines. The fine, when combined with $1.5 million in civil penalties was the largest imposed in a coal mining death case.

In that case, it was revealed that CEO Don Blankenship in a 2005 memo put all of the company's deep mine superintendents on notice that coal production trumped any other concerns. If they got instructions "to do anything other than run coal ... you need to ignore them and run coal. ... We seem not to understand that the coal pays the bills." A week later, however, he sent a follow-up memo, saying that safety is the first responsibility.

Last year alone, MSHA cited Upper Big Branch for 495 violations and proposed $911,802 in fines. Production more than tripled in that period, federal records said. This year, the agency has found 105 violations at the mine.

It is not uncommon for big coal mines to amass hundreds of violations a year. But most big mines don't have as many serious infractions as Upper Big Branch, industry experts said. At least 50 citations charge the company with "unwarrantable failure" to comply with safety standards such as following an approved ventilation plan or designating escape routes.

"I've never seen that many for one mine in a year," said Ellen Smith, editor of Mine Safety & Health News.

Blankenship insisted the mine is no more dangerous than others of comparable size. He said, "I think that I've proven that we run safer coal mines -- you know, most of the time -- and accidents sometimes happen."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.