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Agency cites Walter after death of miner
Power to conveyor should have been shut off, regulators say. Walter plans to appeal.
By Times Staff Writer
Published July 22, 2004
The Mine Safety and Health Administration has cited a Walter Industries subsidiary for a safety violation in connection with the death of a miner in April.
Gary Wayne Keeton, 57, died while working alone in Walter Industries' No. 7 mine in Brookwood, Ala. His body was carried to the surface of the 1,750-foot-deep mine by a conveyor belt used to transport coal.
The conveyor belt carried Keeton about 9,000 feet. His body was found on a rock pile by a bulldozer operator.
The federal agency said Keeton was cleaning the belt, and safety rules required that power to the conveyor system be cut off and the machinery be blocked against motion while it was being cleaned.
Walter Industries said it will appeal the citation. Spokesman John McNeilly said company officials disagree with the agency's assumptions about how the accident occurred and do not think the company was at fault.
A full report on the accident has yet to be issued. Another death occurred at the same mine last month, but did not involve the conveyor system. In that accident, a 45-year-old miner was crushed by a moving bunker car used to carry coal. The agency said the car operator did not see the miner.
[Last modified July 21, 2004, 23:20:22]
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