Massey Energy Honored with Safety Award

Massey Energy Company has been honored with a mine safety award.

The mining company which is under a federal criminal investigation for the explosion in the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia that killed 29 miners touted the new safety award on their website.

The award is from The Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association  "a non-profit organization founded in 1918, annually recognizes outstanding safety performance in the mining industry."

The association's award highlights the company's safety records at nine of its operations.

Officers for the safety association are listed on the organization's website and include two employees of the Department of Labor's Mine Safety Health Administration which is also investigating Massey. The phone number listed for the association rings to an MSHA office in Virginia and the association appears to be affiliated with MSHA. 

The explosion on April 5, 2010was the largest mine disaster in 40 years. According to MSHA records, the Upper Big Branch mine was cited 50 times in 2009 for "unwarrantable" failures.

Massey says the awards were presented at the "Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association's annual meeting in Roanoke, West Virginia on May 21-22."