An explosion on 9 May 1992, deep inside the Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia killed 26 underground miners. As distraught family members gathered down the road at the town’s Fire Hall, special mine rescue teams known as draegermen — from Pictou County, Cape Breton and New Brunswick — searched for survivors underground, braving conditions described as “terrifying”. The “Westray Bill” established a legal duty for all persons who “direct the work of others” to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of workers and the public.

The bodies of 11 miners were never found. It said the Department of Labour failed to discharge its responsibility to enforce those safety regulations, exhibiting an attitude of “apathy and complacence.". Finally, on 15 May, six days after the explosion, with no hope of finding anyone alive, search efforts were called off. Curragh Resources put up little of its own money to develop the mine. The Nova Scotia Department of Labour expressed concerns about training and certification of workers, and the lack of an emergency plan. The 800-page report contained 74 recommendations ranging from improved training for miners, to an independent review of the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Branch, to a call for legislation to hold corporate executives liable for workplace safety. WestrayA documentary about the Westray coal mine disaster that killed 26 men in Nova Scotia on May 9, 1992. The rescue teams recovered 15 bodies. Clifford Frame refused to testify at the inquiry — which only had jurisdiction in Nova Scotia, so it could not subpoena Frame in Toronto, to bring him to the inquiry.

For Pictou County, the new Westray mine brought a promise of much needed jobs, and a return to a coal mining tradition that spanned 150 years. Finally, on 15 May, six days after the explosion, with no hope of finding anyone alive, search efforts were called off. An explosion on 9 May 1992, deep inside the Westray Mine in Plymouth, killed 26 underground miners. The more than 100 people in attendance — many families of the 26 miners killed — responded with a standing ovation. The combination created a massive explosion that rocked the tiny community of Plymouth. On the ground lay dangerously high levels of coal dust that had not been stone-dusted.

On the same day that Westray suspended recovery efforts, the provincial government appointed Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice K. Peter Richard to conduct a public inquiry into the disaster.

Underneath their names the inscription reads “Their light shall always shine.". on Mine Disasters in the United States Historical accident reports are available in the library archives at the National Mine Health & Safety Academy in Beckley, West Virginia.

But on 30 June 1997 Crown Attorneys returned to the fire hall in Plymouth to tell the miners' families that the case was over, they were dropping all charges. The families' euphoria was short-lived.

It would be another two years before Justice Richard released his final report, “The Westray Story: A Predictable Path to Disaster."

The youngest was 22 years old, the oldest 56. The rescue teams recovered 15 bodies. Justice K. Peter Richard, The Westray Story: A Predictable Path to Disaster, report of the Westray Mine Public Inquiry.

Early on, the company scrapped the original plans and changed tunnel directions so it could tap into the coal seam sooner. Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources was worried that route would cross major geological faults.

Since becoming law in 2004, fewer than a dozen charges have been laid under the legislation, and no one has been handed a jail sentence.

At one point, it threatened to pull Westray’s mining permit, but backed off for reasons that were never explained. On the ground lay dangerously high levels of coal dust that had not been stone-dusted.

As distraught fa… The mine officially opened on 11 September 1991. At 5:20 a.m., sparks from their continuous mining machine ignited methane gas that had not been properly ventilated. In December, the province announced it was dropping its charges over fears those trials could interfere with potential criminal charges. 1992: The Westray mining disasterA CBC Radio clip in which family and friends of the 26 victims of the Westray Mine disaster reminisce, and discuss how this tragedy may have been prevented. In September, 1993 Curragh was placed into receivership, and the Westray Mine never re-opened. The mine had been open less than eight months. ​An explosion on 9 May 1992, deep inside the Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia killed 26 underground miners. The Westray Mine Explosion: An Examination of the Interaction Between the Mine Owner and the MediaThis paper analyzes Westray Mine owner’s communication failures and the lapses in media coverage of the 1992 mining disaster in Nova Scotia. The bodies of 11 miners were never found. Shortly after the tragedy, volunteers, tradespeople and family members built a memorial to the men who died, just outside an industrial park in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
The fund also provided scholarship funds for the 43 children who were left without fathers. From the Government of Nova Scotia website. For the first time it apologized to the miner’s families, acknowledging that the “entire system” failed the workers at Westray. Westray would mine the Foord coal seam, a coalfield known for its unstable formations and deadly methane gas explosions. Workplace riskA CBC News report on the state of workplace safety in Canada on the 20th anniversary of the Westray mine disaster. The fire caused a gas explosion, which, fed by coal dust, ripped through the mine and set off further explosions, killing workers and firefighters attempting their rescue. ", The report said the mine’s ventilation system, critical to dispersing the deadly methane gas, was woefully inadequate, and it cited Westray management’s repeated violation of safety regulations. Dubreuil, B., Westray Disaster (2014). experienced eight methane gas explosions before closing in the 1950’s. From the National Film Board of Canada. In 2014, the United Steelworkers union, with support from the Westray Families Group, launched a nationwide campaign urging the federal government to give police and prosecutors the training, tools and direction to enforce the provisions of Bill C-45. Weeks before the disaster, a provincial inspector issued an order to have the coal dust cleaned and stone-dusted, but did not enforce the order during a return visit just days before the explosion. Includes insightful accounts from widows of lost miners, surviving co-workers, and others. Richard concluded that “(Westray) is a story of incompetence, of mismanagement, of bureaucratic bungling, of deceit, of ruthlessness, of cover-up, of apathy, of expediency, and of cynical indifference. Those untouched by the blast and fireballs were brought down by the carbon monoxide left in t… The families of the 26 men who died launched a lawsuit against the province; however the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruled the government was protected from lawsuits under the Workers Compensation Act, and the claim was dismissed. The combination created a massive explosion that rocked the tiny community of Plymouth. From indigo.ca. The youngest was 22 years old, the oldest 56. Most of the miners were in their early 30's.
From the Canadian Journal of Communications. In, Dubreuil, Brian , "Westray Disaster". The mine had been open less than eight months. In 2002, following lobbying efforts by unions and the Westray Families Group, the federal government introduced Bill C-45. The Nova Scotia government immediately accepted and agreed to act on all of the inquiry’s recommendations. In. searched for survivors underground, braving conditions described as “terrifying”. Construction resumed a few months later, after Curragh secured a loan guarantee of $85-million and an $8-million interim loan from the federal government. Even before the mine opened, provincial bureaucrats raised concerns about the Westray development. The Department also raised concerns about the mine's failure to clean up the highly flammable coal dust that lined the floors and walls, and its lack of stone-dusting, a process to neutralize the material's explosive nature. One year after the tragedy, Cameron’s Progressive Conservative government was swept out of power, winning only nine of the 52 seats in the Nova Scotia legislature. From the magazine natural resources. The names of all 26 miners are inscribed in rays of light from a coal miner’s lamp. The report was a scathing indictment of the actions, or lack of action, of Westray managers, provincial bureaucrats and politicians. Department of Labour inspectors repeatedly asked the company for roof support plans. Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map. The Westray StoryA detailed report on the deadly Westray Mine incident that examines underlying causes, regulatory failings, and the aftermath. Most of the miners were in their early 30's. The site sits above what was the North Main tunnel of the Westray mine, the final resting place for the 11 miners whose bodies were never recovered. A public inquiry blamed mine management, bureaucrats and politicians for a tragedy “that should have been prevented.” As a result of the disaster, in 2004 Parliament passed Bill C-45 imposing criminal liability on corporations and executives that fail to ensure a safe workplace.


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