{Washington, D.C.}...Federal regulators are preparing to issue their final investigation report on the April 5, 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 men. Mine Safety and Health Administration officials plan to brief the miners' families on their final conclusions Tuesday in Beaver. MSHA has long blamed methane gas, coal dust and broken equipment for the deadliest mine disaster in four decades. As they wrap up their probe, federal regulators face unanswered questions regarding what Massey Energy board members were told about persistent safety problems at the mine and whether serious explosion hazards were corrected. In late October, MSHA officials conducted a secret interview with Joe Pavlovich, a longtime MSHA inspector and supervisor who warned Massey officials at least three times in the year before the disaster that Upper Big Branch wasn't properly cleaning up accumulations of explosive coal dust. According to court documents and other records, investigators have been given conflicting accounts of whether hazards identified by Pavlovich were ever fixed, and that some reports to Massey board members who served on a special safety committee appear to have downplayed those warnings. During a meeting November 9, 2009, Massey vice president for safety Elizabeth Chamberlin assured board members that Pavlovich's audits showed safety conditions and practices at Massey mines were improving. November 10th, Pavlovich made a repeat visit to Upper Big Branch, where he had been in April and October, and found poor rock-dusting practices each time. "The entire longwall section belt needs to be rock dusted," Pavlovich said in a report on the November 10th inspection. That was the last time Pavlovich ever inspected Upper Big Branch.
