After spending a year in prison on charges related to one of the nation’s worst mining disasters, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship has taken to TV to plead his innocence. In a series of television ads running in West Virginia, Blankenship, who was convicted of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards, is now blaming the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that killed 29 miners.
“Because the MSHA likely caused the UBB mine explosion, the truth has been hidden for over seven years," says Blankenship on his website. “The commercials in the "For the Sake of Coal Miners" series are being released now and in the coming months to provide the catalyst for a scientific versus political investigation into what happened at UBB. When the truth is exposed, many safety improvements will be identified. Untruths and politics have no role in improving mine safety.”