Local West Virginian newspaper the Charleston Gazette reportedly obtained documents under the US Freedom of Information Act which showed that Thomas Harrah, a former employee of the Raleigh County operation, performed about 228 pre-shift, on-shift and conveyor belt safety inspections over nearly two years.

According to the documentation, Harrah was employed at UBB from January 2008 to August 2009, until state investigators discovered that his certification had actually been issued to another individual in 2007. By August, Harrah had transferred to Massey’s Slip Ridge Cedar Grove mine, where he continued to sign reports using the false certification number.

State data confirmed that Harrah did have a West Virginian certification to work as a coal miner. A Massey representative told ILN that it appeared he had forged the foreman certification after he was unable to pass the exam.

“When Mr Harrah was caught having forged the certification, he left before we could terminate his employment, which we intended to do,” Massey vice-president and general counsel Shane Harvey said.

“It does not appear that he blames anyone else for the incident other than himself and we feel confident that no one at Massey helped Mr Harrah violate the law. We have no tolerance for such behavior and are thankful that no one was hurt as a result of Mr Harrah's conduct.”

Harvey added that Massey had quickly taken steps after the discovery to verify that all miner certifications for its employees were accurate, and it would continue to be vigilant with this issue.

“We feel that we have learned a valuable lesson from the incident,” he said.

“We would be in favor of any efforts that could be undertaken to improve the ability of operators or state or federal officials to catch or prevent such behavior.”

The Gazette reported that the number Harrah used had been issued in August 2007 to Lee Terrill, just one day before Harrah took and failed the foreman examination. Harvey did not confirm the report.

“This is the type of matter MSHA investigates when it becomes aware of it but, as with any matter that may or may not be under investigation, we cannot comment on whether there is an open investigation into this matter,” US Mine Safety and Health Administration spokesperson Amy Louviere told ILN late Monday.

While Harrah did not work at UBB when the explosion occurred in April, it is not known if the discovery of Harrah’s fraudulent representations will have any bearing on the federal investigation of the blast.

Aracoma probation response

In related Massey Energy news, a spokesperson responded to ILN early Monday regarding four former foremen at its Aracoma operation who were sentenced last week to probation for failing to conduct escape drills with crews over two years leading up to the January 2006 belt fire at the operation which killed two workers.

“Massey takes the requirement to conduct escapeway drills seriously,” the spokesperson said.

“We expect all of our miners to follow state and federal laws as well as company policies, which are often more stringent.”

Donald Hagy, Terry Shadd, Edward Ellis and Michael Plumley pleaded guilty in July to not leading crews on the required mine evacuation drills at various times in 2005 and 2006. They were sentenced last Thursday by US District Judge John Copenhaver Jr to the probation plus a total of $7000 in fines.

The charges stemmed from the investigation into the incident that killed Don Bragg and Ellery Hatfield at the Logan County operation. Both men were separated from the rest of their crew while trying to escape the mine but became lost in the smoke.