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While the nation waits to hear about the fate of some 13 coalminers trapped in a West Virginia mine some 260 feet underground, serious allegations about the safety of the mine have been uncovered. The Sago Mine had 208 federal safety violation citations issued to them last year. Some 96 of the violations were considered serious. The number of violations that Sago received is three times the national mine safety average.
The violations included a failure to maintain and operate mining equipment and a failure to dilute coal dust in the air. Very tiny particles of coal dust are dangerous because any amount of spark could set off a massive explosion, much like the one that caused the miners at Sago to become trapped.
An additional 42 injuries occurred at Sago over the past five years. These injuries all resulted in a loss of work due to their seriousness. The West Virginia Office of Miners'' Health Safety & Training issued some 144 notices of violation to the mine last year as well.
The new revelations about the Sago Mine may show that the mine suffered from a history of safety violations and unsafe working conditions, all of which may have led to Monday''s mine explosion.
The entire nation is watching and waiting as federal officials scramble to try to find the miners. A recent testing of the air in the mineshaft revealed dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, however, and the men have been trapped for over 24 hours.
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