Peabody Mine Violations for Methane Incident Upheld by D.C. Cir.

Coal company Peabody Mining Midwest LLC’s failure to immediately evacuate all workers from an underground mine when explosive methane gas was detected violated federal mine safety rules, the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday.

The ruling makes clear that MSHA requires that decisions on how to stop the flow of methane gas are secondary to getting miners out of danger and shutting down electrical equipment that could ignite the gas.

The decision by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholds a ruling by the US Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission and backs a citation from ...