Surviving Black Miner in W. Virginia Speaks

By Paul Shepard
Melvin Lynch knew something was wrong when his ears popped. The air pressure in the West Virginia coal mine he was working in had changed violently, and Lynch knew that couldn't be good news.

Lynch escaped the mine, but his brother, Roosevelt, who was working farther below with 24 other miners, wasn't as fortunate. He is among those being mourned in the worst U.S. mine disaster in more than 20 years.

Rescue crews at the Upper Big Branch mine outside of Charleston are working their way through the mine owned by Massey Energy Co. in search of four other trapped miners.

While families for the 4 missing men are holding out some faint hope that their loved ones might be rescued, Melvin Lynch isn't optimistic about his brother's fate.



Knowing coal mining as one of the most hazardous jobs in the world, Lynch is pretty sure it took his brother's life.

"When you've been a coal miner for so long you understand the risk you have to take," Lynch said in comparing the risk to those who serve in the military.

I commend Lynch for his attitude but question whether there is a small piece of bitterness focused on the spotty safety record of Massey Energy Co., which operated the doomed Upper Big Branch mine.

Initial investigations of the mine disaster show the company leadership placed a premium on the company's bottom line and had been criticized for its safety standards. Massey Energy Co. leaders have denied that they put the health and safety of their workers at undue risk.

In 2008, though, a group of Massey shareholders sued the company's board members for "disregarding their fiduciary obligations," because safety violations contributed to preventable deaths among workers. The suit was eventually dismissed.

Meanwhile company leaders say Massey's operations have been safer than the industry average in 18 of the last 20 years and that federal regulators ruled their operations to be safe.

Do people have to die in coal mine, though?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes. While the mine operators are obliged to make mining as safe as possible, it is a risky way to make a living. Bus drivers crash in fatal accidents. Airline pilots suffer horrific air disasters. Foreign journalists die when entering war zones.

Lynch should demand answers as to whether the mine that claimed his brother was operating as safely as it should have been, but ultimately, he will have to resign himself to the knowledge that he has chosen a very dangerous way to put food on the table.