Government investigators looking for causes of the April disaster that killed 29 West Virginia coal miners have run into a new barrier: Officials of Massey Energy, owner of the doomed mine, are refusing to cooperate, invoking their 5th Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination, the Charleston Gazette reports.
The explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine at Montcoal, W.Va., was the deadliest U.S. mining disaster in 40 years.
The 5th Amendment was invoked in letters from lawyers for six Massey executives to the West Virginia Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training. The letters, sent earlier this month, affirmed the officials’ innocence, but said they would not submit to interviews from the state and federal Mine Safety and Health Administration due to concern that the investigations were not being conducted properly.
For example, the letter from the attorney for Elizabeth Chamberlin, Massey’s vice president for safety, accused MSHA of trying to “divert attention and blame from itself and onto others”. It also said members of an independent investigation team appointed by Gov. Joe Manchin had “bullied and abused” some witnesses.
A member of the state team, Davitt McAteer, denied that allegation.
“We have been respectful of all of the people who have come before us,” he said. “There are some things that are difficult, because we have lost 29 individuals. It’s unfortunate that we are in this circumstance, but we’re trying to get to the truth.”
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