Tip of Iceberg of Massey's Titanic Violations: 72-Foot Tidal Wave of Coal Sludge Looms Above Affected Mining Communities

Hope must die last in the coalfields, as our prayers go out to the
families of the missing four coal miners and the 25 killed in the recent
Montcoal mining disaster in West Virginia.

But as heroic rescue teams attempt to reach the missing miners,
another potential disaster instigated by reckless Massey Energy
regulatory violations and oversight looms above the very heads of these
affected coal mining communities--and the pool of journalists and
observers:

Blasting within a football field of the nearby class "C" Brushy Fork
impoundment, one of the largest and potentially weakest coal slurry
impoundments in the nation, Massey Energy is engaging in a violation-ridden act of aggression against
besieged coalfield residents.

"Today Americans are witnessing the tragedy of Appalachia," says Bo
Webb, a resident in Peachtree, West Virginia. "Coal barons such as Don
Blankenship daily place their employees as well as entire communities at
great risk in order to satisfy the profit of Fat Cat Wall street
Investors."

This week's mining disaster is only the tip of the iceberg of
Massey's dangerous mining operations--from underground to above-ground
strip-mining and mountaintop removal blasting--that threaten the lives
of coalfield residents and mining families.

One of the most under-reported aspects of underground mining
violations is the continual scandal of black lung disease. Three coal
miners needlessly die daily from black lung disease--the inhalation of
coal dust--due to poor enforcement of regulations and mining companies
that flaunt workplace safety laws.

Black lung disease was first detected in 1831--and yet, our nation
continues to tolerate this daily tragedy that strikes down coal miners
every day.

That same sense of betrayal of coalfield communities hovers above
their heads at the Brushy Fork coal slurry impoundment. Despite pleas and protests by local residents, as part of
the reckless mountaintop removal plans for Coal River Mountain, Massey
Energy is now operating a strip mine near the Bee Tree branch of the
mountain, blasting outrageously close to a multi-billion gallon coal
slurry impoundment that is held back by a weakened earthen dam.

"Massey's aggressive mining mission doesn't even consider the fact
that they have completely surrounded an elementary school and placing
young children in harms way," adds Webb, who has campaigned with area
residents for a new school for years. Marsh Fork Elementary School sits within a
football field of toxic coal silos, as well.

According to Massey's own evacuation
reports, a break in the coal slurry impoundment would result in
certain injury or death for the nearly 1,000 residents downslope in the
valley. Some area residents would have less than 15 minutes to escape a
72-foot tidal wave of coal slurry.

Here are the graphs of the proposed evacuation scenarios:

Massey's Edwight
mountaintop removal mine is another potential disaster waiting to
happen.

Coalfield residents in other counties have also cited Massey violations that have led to the contamination of their watersheds.

Before another disaster strikes the Coal River Valley--and in the
coalfields across 24 states in the country--it's time to bring the era
of regulated manslaughter and human rights violations to an end.