Thousands of West Virginia miners got safety lectures at the start of their shifts, and officials began a round of inspections across the No. 2 coal-producing state Thursday, Feb. 2, in a "timeout" urged by the governor, according to the Associated Press. Federal officials also asked coal mines nationwide to conduct a time-out, or "Stand Down for Safety," on Monday, Feb. 6.
West Virginia closed all coal mining operations in the state for safety checks on Wednesday, Feb. 1, after a series of accidents killed 16 miners in the past month. It is already the deadliest year in the state's coalfields in more than a decade.