{Beaver, West Virginia}...In Beaver Tuesday morning, the Mine Safety and Health Administration discussed its findings privately with families of the victims of the April 5, 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion. MSHA officials insist that inspectors used the tools they had and were trying to correct problems. The report acknowledges multiple failures by field staff in MSHA's largest region, southern West Virginia's District 4. It also said their effectiveness was compromised by internal communication problems and by federal budget cuts that had created staffing shortages, inexperience and a lack of sufficient training and managerial oversight. Federal inspectors either missed problems at the mine or failed to inspect the areas where they existed in the 18 months before the explosion, but an internal review concludes there's no evidence those failures caused the disaster. MSHA director Joe Main said he takes the findings seriously and praised the review team for identifying systemic breakdowns. Main says he will review whether administrative actions should be taken against individuals. But, he said blame for the disaster continues to rest squarely with former mine owner Massey Energy. Although inspectors wrote a total of 684 violations in the 18 months before the blast, the report said they failed to act on eight that could have been deemed "flagrant," the most serious designation. They also failed to conduct special investigations on at least six occasions to determine whether managers knowingly violated safety standards.
