Howard Berkes

Doctors Confirm Black Lung In Victims Of Mine Blast

Howard Berkes — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:29:06 +0000

The tragic deaths of 29 coal miners in a massive explosion in 2010 have provided new evidence of a resurgence of the disease known as black lung.

On Monday, a team of pathologists and lung disease experts will present the results of a detailed study of lung tissue from some of the victims of the Upper Big Bran

Fines Slashed In Grain Bin Entrapment Deaths

Howard Berkes — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:12:11 +0000

The night before he died, Wyatt Whitebread couldn't stand the thought of going back to the grain bins on the edge of Mount Carroll, Ill.

The mischievous and popular 14-year-old had been excited about his first real job, he told Lisa Jones, the mother of some of his closest friends, as she drove him home from a night out for pizza. But nearly two weeks later he told her he was tired of being sent into massive storage bins clogged with corn.

Jones choked back tears as she recalled the conversation.

Should Grain Bins On Farms Be Regulated, Too?

Howard Berkes and Jim Morris — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:11:28 +0000

The commercial grain industry responded to a record number of grain entrapments and deaths in 2010 with more safety videos, publications and training programs.

"Have tragic incidents still happened? Yes," says Jeff Adkisson, who heads the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois. "Are we working to reduce them further? Absolutely."

Randy Gordon, president of the National Grain and Feed Association, sees no need for additional regulations.

Massey Mine Boss Sentenced; Feds Toughen Mine Safety Rule

Howard Berkes — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:14:51 +0000

Nearly three years after a deadly mine explosion in West Virginia, a former Massey Energy mine superintendent has been sentenced to prison and federal regulators have toughened a regulation that could have helped prevent the disaster.

Today in federal court in Beckley, W.Va., former Upper Big Branch coal mine superintendant Gary May was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay

Mine Disaster Probe Leads To Conspiracy Charges Against Former Executive

Howard Berkes — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:12:45 +0000

Federal prosecutors in West Virginia stepped higher up the corporate ladder at Massey Energy Wednesday with new criminal charges stemming from the investigation of the 2010 coal mine explosion that killed 29 workers.

David C. Hughart was president of Massey's Green Valley Resource Group, a major coal mining subsidiary based in Leivasy, W. Va., from 2000 to 2010.

He has agreed to plead guilty to the charges and is cooperating with the investigation, U.S.

Poll: Romney Has Large Lead In Rural Swing Counties

Howard Berkes — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:25:12 +0000

As Mitt Romney and President Obama get ready for their second debate, a new bipartisan survey shows a surge for Romney in a key voter group following their first debate Oct. 3.

The random cellphone and land line poll of 600 likely rural voters in nine battleground states Oct. 9-11 has Romney at 59 percent among the survey's respondents.

Coal Mine Company Denies Responsibility Despite Disaster Settlement

Howard Berkes — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 02:09:50 +0000

The Labor Department says a Thursday settlement in the 2007 Crandall Canyon mine disaster clearly leaves mine owner Murray Energy with "acknowledged responsibility for the failures that led to the tragedy."

"These failures resulted in the needless deaths of nine" miners and rescuers, Solicitor of Labor Patricia Smith says.

But despite company signatures on the settlement document, Murray Energy tells NPR "this settlement is not an admission of any contribution to the August 2007 accidents."

The settlement [

Black-Lung Rule Loopholes Leave Miners Vulnerable

Howard Berkes — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:55:55 +0000

Part two of a two-part series.

Thousands of coal miners continued to suffer and die from black lung during the 40 years that tough new limits on exposure to coal dust were supposed to provide protection.

Control of the mine dust was plagued by weak enforcement by regulators and loopholes exploited by mining companies, according to a joint investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity (CPI).

As Mine Protections Fail, Black Lung Cases Surge

Howard Berkes — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:52:00 +0000

Part one of a two-part series.

It wasn't supposed to happen to coal miners in Mark McCowan's generation. It wasn't supposed to strike so early and so hard.