By Taylor Kuykendall

Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy, is again promoting his theory that a natural gas inundation was behind the deadly Upper Big Branch mine explosion, this time through a new film that seeks to rebut the findings of government, union and independent investigations into the disaster.

The film reiterates the theory put forth by a 2011 internal investigation that a Massey executive leaked ahead of its merger with Alpha Natural Resources Inc. Both that report and the new "Upper Big Branch — Never Again" video released March 31 blame the April 2010 accident that killed 29 miners in West Virginia primarily on a "massive inundation of natural gas" and seek to refute the notion that Massey's safety record was contributory.

"The purpose of the documentary is to try to get people to focus on what actually happened at UBB and to make improvement in the safety of coal miners," Blankenship says in the film. "Accidents happen. They can be prevented, but they can't be prevented with propaganda and politics. They can only be prevented with physics and technology."

Investigations by the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, the United Mine Workers of America as well as an independent review concluded that a small methane fire was sparked by inadequately maintained equipment. Those reports mostly agreed that inadequate rock dusting allowed the explosion to grow as it was fueled by loose coal dust.

On March 31, the MSHA responded to a request for comment. "With regards to the video, we stand by the findings in our accident investigation report. Our findings were consistent with numerous other reports with regards to the events that led to 29 miners losing their lives at Upper Big Branch mine."

Film prompts legal threat from Sen. Manchin

According to media reports, Blankenship provided funding for the film. The movie was created by Adroit Films LLC and posted to UBBNeverAgain.com on March 31, along with links to unedited interviews that appear to have been removed.

The film prominently features an interview with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Shortly after the film's release, Manchin issued a public statement saying he would never have been involved with a film he knew was associated with Blankenship and that the producers "never disclosed to me the intent of this film." Manchin claims he was told the project was a mine safety documentary and not an "attempt to vindicate Don Blankenship."

"He should be more concerned with his role in the deaths of 29 brave miners and the ongoing U.S. Department of Justice investigation rather than filming a propaganda documentary," Manchin said. "I am not only livid that I was lied to, but I am even more enraged that Don Blankenship would manipulate a tragedy to promote himself and his own agenda. I am going to pursue every legal recourse available against Adroit's despicable tactics. The most tragic part of all of this is that the families of these miners are forced to suffer yet again at the hands of Don Blankenship."

Manchin was the governor of West Virginia at the time of the explosion.

“The most tragic part of all of this is that the families of these miners are forced to suffer yet again at the hands of Don Blankenship.”

 Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

Film argues for Blankenship, Massey theory

In addition to interviews with Blankenship and Manchin, the film features comments from Stan Suboleski, a mining engineer with Evan Energy and a former executive of Massey Energy; Gary Aho, a geologist with Sage Geo Tech; Patrick Hatcher, a chemistry professor at Old Dominion University; Tom Hethmon, a mine safety professor at the University of Utah; and Kim McCarter, a professor of mining engineering.

The film prominently features Martin Hertzberg, a consultant who works for attorneys involved in litigation related to accidental explosions and fires. He claims coal miners would have never gone into an area that was inadequately rock-dusted, as numerous investigations have claimed was the case at Upper Big Branch. He also claims it is impossible to gauge rock dusting levels following an explosion. He said the areas that were believed to be inadequately dusted were likely just disturbed by the explosion.

"The explosion is such an enormous disturbance in the mine, the pressures are so high, dust gets kicked around, chunks of coal get banged into equipment and pulverized," he said. "It's an insult to miners to imply that they would go work in a section that looked as black as that."

The West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training said in its report that, according to testimony it gathered, there was a " disturbing" lack of rock dusting in certain parts of the mine. The MSHA, the UMWA and the independent review reached similar conclusions, along with findings of a record of poor safety compliance at the mine.

Blankenship says government, union ignored evidence

Blankenship says the purpose of the video is to encourage the formulation of better safety practices that are based on science. He claims reports issued by the MSHA and the UMWA ignore forensic evidence that back his theory of events leading up to the explosion.

"United Mine Workers and the Mine Safety and Health Administration are living in the past," Blankenship said. "They don't see things for what they are because they are blinded by their dislike for business and their dislike for certain individuals."

Phil Smith, a spokesman for the UMWA, told SNL Energy on March 31 that the union "stands by its report on what happened at the Upper Big Branch mine. In their report, the UMWA asserts Massey and its management were guilty of "industrial homicide" due to their disregard for safety.

The film also accuses MSHA of requiring the company to use a mine ventilation plan that reduced the airflow throughout the mine. Blankenship said regulators failed to look at Upper Big Branch's plan "mathematically or scientifically."

"The law only requires 30,000 [cubic feet per minute] of air," Blankenship said. "We had 120,000 when we were operating the mine the way we wanted to operate it. When we got through making the changes the government wanted to make, we were around 50,000. Even though we were compliant with the law, we didn't have nearly the amount of air we believed was proper."

Blankenship insists company cared about worker safety

Blankenship, whom Rolling Stone magazine once dubbed the "dark lord" of coal country, said that while he was CEO, Massey Energy pioneered coal mine safety innovations. He stressed that he cares about coal miners and their safety and challenged assertions that he put profit ahead of the safety of workers.

"For one thing, I'm smart enough to know that keeping your coal miners safe and not having accidents is very profitable," Blankenship said. "Even those that think very badly of me and think that I'm solely focused on profit should understand that I know that profit can only be derived from safe coal mines."

The investigative report from MSHA attributed some blame for the UBB explosion to a corporate culture that prized production over human life at Massey.

“Even those that think very badly of me and think that I'm solely focused on profit should understand that I know that profit can only be derived from safe coal mines.”

 Don Blankenship, former CEO, Massey Energy

Though Alpha has settled its inherited corporate liability regarding Upper Big Branch, a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia is ongoing. During a recent trial stemming from the investigation, a former Massey executive implicated Blankenship in a scheme to provide advanced notice ahead of inspections, a violation of mine safety laws. Many have speculated how high up the corporate ladder that investigation may go.

The U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for an update on its investigation.