Clean Air Needed to Explore Mine: Doctors Have Hope McCloy Will Recover

By Evelyn Ryan and, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Jan. 11–Federal mine-safety officials are at Tallmansville, home of the Sago mine, waiting for word that the air has cleared enough to send an investigation team inside. An explosion at Sago mine on the morning of Jan. 2 claimed the lives of 12 miners. The only survivor, Randal McCloy Jr., remains in critical condition at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. The mine belongs to International Coal Group. As of Monday, ICG had completed ventilation boreholes into two sections of the mine, and was sinking a third into a closed section where the explosion may have originated. Robert Friend, acting deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, and Richard Gates, MSHA’s lead investigator, offered updates Tuesday. Attention is focused on the closed mine section, known as third left. It’s just beyond second left, where the dead miners were found. “Left” indicates the entrance is on the left side of the main haulageway; these working areas are numbered in order from the portal. “At this time, we do know from a 6-inch borehole that there is methane in that third-left section,” Gates said. “As soon as the 24-inch borehole is in, the air should clear a lot faster.” Once the ventilation and air quality are adequate and the mine is free of hazards, the team will begin its investigation of the mine. Gates said teams composed of state and federal personnel, as well as some of the people who were there during the recovery, would go into the mine. “We are currently unable to access the mine,” Gates said, so we “are in the preliminary stages of the investigation, the information gathering. “The primary focus of the investigation team is to determine the root cause of the accident,” he said, and share that information with other mining companies to prevent it from happening again. The necessary information includes any existing paperwork on the mine, interviews with individuals who have knowledge of the mine or the explosion and those who were involved in the rescue effort, and results of tests on any materials taken from the mine. Another part of the investigation will focus on communication issues that became visible as a result of the accident, he said. Friend said they can’t tell how long it will be before the investigation team is able to enter the mine. “We hope it will be within the next week,” he said, “but that’s dependent on some things beyond our control.” The MSHA officials declined to speculate on how long it would take to complete the investigation. Friend said it could be affected by when the congressional public hearing takes place and the number of people who speak at the hearing. “The public hearing can be a beneficial part of this investigation,” United Mine Workers Association President Cecil Roberts said. The UMWA probably will be part of the investigation and planned congressional inquiries, Roberts said. “But what is going to be most important for the public and for coal miners to know as a result of this investigation is that mine safety and health regulations will be strictly enforced at every mine in the United States,” Roberts said. McCloy’s condition A WVU doctor said Tuesday he is hopeful that coal miner Randal McCloy Jr.’s brain will recover from the “extreme carbon-monoxide poisoning” he suffered last week after an explosion in an Upshur County mine.

“We are optimistic that he does have a lot of brain activity,” Dr. Julian Bailes said Tuesday as he summarized McCloy’s test results. While results show there is damage to McCloy’s brain, it is not to the gray matter, which tends to not recover as quickly, Bailes said. Instead the damage is to some white matter — the fibers that connect aspects of the brain, which is good news. “We are cautiously optimistic that he could recover — there is a very good chance that he could improve,” he said. McCloy’s mild fever persists, said Dr. Larry Roberts, director of the Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center at Ruby Memorial Hospital, but the cause is not known. “All the cultures and results (to find infection) have been negative,” he said. There are no burns to his lips, and his bronchial systems seem “quite normal,” he said. He still has a breathing tube, and will for a while. “We need a noncomatose, awake patient to remove the breathing tube,” he said. McCloy remains in a medically induced coma, caused by medications used to sedate him. Since Saturday, WVU Hospitals has scheduled daily press conferences on McCloy’s condition. On Tuesday, however, WVU Hospitals spokesman Bill Case said that practice will end. Any regular updates will be sent to the media. For more important announcements, media will be notified of press conferences, he said. To access the latest update on McCloy’s condition, visit WVU Hospitals’ Web site at www.health.wvu.edu/mccloy/mcc loy.htm.

—–

Copyright (c) 2006, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.