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Miner struck by rock killed
Pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m. Wednesday was 54-year-old Robert Maust of Uniontown, who had worked for Consol for nearly two years and had almost nine years' experience working in other mines.
Consol spokesman Joseph Cerenzia said Maust, who was married with two grown sons, was struck in the torso by the rock.
"Let me make this clear. This was not a roof fall," Cerenzia said.
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"The attempt was unsuccessful," he said.
Maust was a roof bolter and was working in the continuous mining section alongside a continuous miner.
"They were driving development entries to support the longwall when the rock fell," Cerenzia said.
The last mine fatality to occur at Bailey was in 2000, Cerenzia said, but he could provide no details about the incident.
According to Observer-Reporter archives, Jeffrey John Cunko of Washington County died in a Pittsburgh hospital Oct. 29, 2000, of a ruptured femoral artery and vein after being struck by a piece of metal from a chain that snapped while he was working in the mine.
Cerenzia said the rate of incidents such as injuries and falls at Bailey in 2008 was 2.56 incidents per 1 million exposure hours.
"That compares to six to seven incident rates per million man-hours industrywide," Cerenzia said.
Cerenzia said the fatality was being investigated by Consol's Safety and Operation team, the Mine Safety Health Administration and the state Mine Safety Department. Those agencies will review the facts and issue a final report, he said.
accident : 6/25/2009
It is sad that the mine seems more concerned about defending their safety record, than expressing sorry for the family. We know the dangers of working in a mine and consol's record for safety is exceptional, still a little sympathy for the miner and his family would be nice.
mm : 6/25/2009
While they are very sorry for the loss of one of their men, they are I think trying to calm the fears of the families that are returning to the mine today. The reporter asked about the last death, even went digging to find it.....Yeah kuddos to the reporter!! This article was not written by Consol. I am sure they expressed sympathy over and over, but the reported choose a different angle. Maybe your beef should be with him?
Response to mm : 6/25/2009
As a daughter and a sister of coal miners, whose father and brother works in the same mine and may possibly be working at the location of the accident, I feel that we should be lifting this family in prayer and not focusing on the negativity that the previous comment stated. There is great sympathy from all the miners and their families, along from Consol. Just because there was a minor comment stating the previous accident at the mine, doesn't mean they are defending their safety record. They are simply stating their record so people may know that this was an accident. All our prayers are with the family and also with miners who are affected by this accident.
mm / focus somewhere else : 6/25/2009
We all have great sympathy for the family of this miner. A comment from a spokesperson concerning safety does not mean that Consol is concerned more for their record than for this miner and his family. Lets focus on God and prayer for this family.
The Miner : 6/25/2009
I work at the Enlow Mine, and the morning after the accident our boss made an announcement. He announced that a miner was killed the previous evening at our sister mine. He then went on to describe the miner as a man of 55 with 2 grown children, at that time he didn't know the mans level of experience, his name, or his family. He did not flaunt the mines safety record, or try to prepare for a press conference. He did describe the circumstances around his death, and let us know what happened so we can prevent it in the future. He did discuss our families and trying to keep us safer so we all make it home to see them every day. It is unfortunate that the press has given coal mines and mining companies such a bad rap that they are forced to defend their safety record in a statement, and not defend the hard work of the miners. But then again, that wouldn't sell to masses.. would it?
