Corner Cutting and Greed Caused Massive Underground Explosion | Short Documentary

[@PlainlyDifficult]

►Thanks for watching, check out me other bits! ►My new Album: madebyjohn.bandcamp.com/album/ambient-archiv-1 ►Outro Song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJPTnn2AjdaGhsksi=2_i6bKZUj3bjixzw ►Instagram: instagram.com/plainly.john/ ►Patreon: www.patreon.com/Plainlydifficult ►Merch: plainly-difficult.creator-spring.com ►Twitter:twitter.com/Plainly_D

[@fredashay]

I would love to see you make a tier list of all the disasters you've covered so far, and their places on the Disaster Scale shown at 12:29!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I’ve been considering doing a nuclear disaster iceberg when I hit 1mill subs

[@reeddeer793]

Just curious, why did you change the video title? It used to be “Coal Mine Explodes Due to Cost Cutting Killing 29 miners”

[@MustertheBrohirrim]

How many CEOs furiously clicked on this thinking it was legitimate advice?

[@piratemousie]

​@@PlainlyDifficultI've said it before, but I'll say it again; I'd LOVE for you to cover the Cave Creek disaster here in Aotearoa, it will probably fill te bingo card on it's own!

[@Shiestey]

Calling yourself a political prisoner after being responsible for the deaths of 29 people due to your disregard for regulations is a bold move.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Bold indeed

[@Woodie-xq1ew]

That’s why he’s a prick

[@traymuse]

FYP "...is a typical GOP move."

[@borntoclimb7116]

This is mad

[@timhidden559]

@@SomeTypicalTouristDude, which party has been peeling back safety regulations for the past 4 decades while crying about the ones still left? And it's funny, when a Democrat commits a crime, the party is quick to banish them and wants them prosecuted. When a republican commits a crime, the party rushes to justify it.

[@paul6925]

That CEO certainly was a prick. He had the nerve to try and get into politics even after his sentence. These psychos always play the victim.

[@foo219]

"Political prisoner" my arse. That he even dares to show his face in public is disgraceful enough.

[@paul6925]

@@foo219 right?

[@vanguze]

Dude he tried to run for governor he is a prick

[@bedeckt]

The following is copied text from another comment regarding the political career of this guy *↓↓↓* Here's a new square to add to the bingo card: "Dude in charge (Don Blankenship) later runs for US Senate and runs ads saying that the government blew up his mine and blamed him for it".

[@vanguze]

@@bedeckt We have a real problem in the upper parts of our government where they call it the old boys club. It's ran by the old coal barons. Jim, justice is a part of that current governor.

[@gamerkathan]

So you can collapse a mine, get 1300+ violations, 209 millions dollar fine and still serve less time than getting busted with weed.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Sadly true!

[@lonnyyoung4285]

​@JimAllen-Persona I don't think anyone did? I can't remember at this point. I do remember think the ARMs were a colossally stupid idea because people were likely to not see an income increase large enough to meet the newer payments they would get in a few years, thus resulting in foreclosure and the mortgage company taking possession of the house and aelling it again. It turned out that I was exactly right on that one. The resulting crisis did lead to me getting a nice 30 year fixed rate mortgage for 3.75% when the housing market was in the tank. My house is worth more than twice what we paid 12 years ago and our monthly mortgage payment is less that what people are paying for rent for crappy townhouses half the size of my house.

[@mikesmith-po8nd]

If you knew who really owned the mines, you would understand why. Hint: it's the same group that runs the union.

[@shawnhand9531]

Yes. I'm actually a little bit surprised any jail time was given at all.

[@winterbliss4459]

@@mikesmith-po8ndlemme guess, ur gonna yap about either jews or freemasons

[@templarw20]

"He claims he is a political prisoner, I claim he is a prick.' Understatement, sir.

[@Vicus_of_Utrecht]

Damn, I thought I was the first to point this out 😂

[@KlodFather]

@@Vicus_of_Utrecht - This is West Virginia... Both statements are TRUE LOL. Trust me. I worked there 5 years on engineering projects. Many states, counties, cities and jurisdictions have HUGE corruption and BS going on.

[@Vicus_of_Utrecht]

@@KlodFather Child, I know of the Deep State.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Mining Management: "This is terrible, 29 miners have been killed; How are we going to find more miners for that shift?"

[@bommyTomTim]

Another Mining Manager: "Don't forget all the settlement money for the families. I'm sure we can get the same amount of work done with just 14 new guys"

[@maryeckel9682]

Life in WV

[@JimmyJoeBob]

From watching these videos I have the opinion that there are three causes of industrial disasters. 2% nature, 3% Human error and 95% greedy narcissists in suits.

[@Philip271828]

I think that you've misspelled Randian Hero.

[@dwgray9000]

​@JimAllen-Persona​ I've regretted reading Atlas Shrugged, and seeing as it reduces everything to $$$, I'd be surprised if the proletariat were paid anything more than subsistence wages. Given the hiring troubles most places seemed to be having, the only staff willing to work there being unwilling automatons at the best of times. The sheer lack of depth given to any of the characters made it seem to me that even John Galt was out of depth in a puddle. It also needed the services of an editor. Desperately. I wouldn't suggest reading Ayn Rands turgid dross to my worst enemy. I actually felt dumber for reading it, and spent as much time staring at the departure board willing my invariably delayed northern fail class 142 train to arrive and free me from my self inflicted mental anguish, if only for a moment. Anyone who takes any sort of life lesson from that book is bad person, and I think the only reason we haven't seen Elon Musk tattoo John Galt on his dick is it would be too damn obvious. Or maybe he hasn't got to the dick pics part of his mid life crisis.

[@battleblaster4203]

Ok lets be honest 10% Nature (Erosion , Heavy Rain ,Snowfall etc) 20% Human Error and 70% Greed

[@franklittle8124]

@JimAllen-Persona No, she was for respect for the self and only the self - the essential heart of capitalism. Her hero was a psychopathic kidnapper-murderer.

[@JimmyJoeBob]

I'm sure that there are literature forums out there, that would be a more appropriate place for this argument. That said however, I found her writing to be far too overdramatic to take seriously. Any message she had, got drowned out by cringe. I spent half of my time reading her works, sighing and rolling my eyes. Art Deco in book form IMO. No subtlety, just giant statues and blunt exposition. What I'm saying is that I think that she's overrated.

[@rustymundorf4672]

Here's a new square to add to the bingo card: "Dude in charge (Don Blankenship) later runs for US Senate and runs ads saying that the government blew up his mine and blamed him for it".

[@witchy90210]

He is currently running as a Democrat to take over an open senate seat of a former democrat for our state of WV. He used to be a Republican. This state is very weird. We vote for democratic senators, but vote for republican presidents. So far I have not heard him in ads saying the government blew up his mine. WV isnt the highest edumacated place, but we (everyone else im not native to this state) know about coal mining and arent that stupid.

[@the_expidition427]

A game people play saving this it is not as much about education as it is being capable of rationalizing things

[@amberblyledge7859]

@@witchy90210 Ya might wanna contact news agencies. This would be a juicy story for those against him. I'm in alabama, so I don't have a say, but I wouldn't want anybody like that in the senate. Good luck!

[@selanryn5849]

@@amberblyledge7859 Your senators aren't really any better, if you haven't noticed.

[@kirtknierim3687]

Any "elected official" is immediately suspect in my mind.

[@floydkirk6783]

My cousin died there his name Joe marcum died there he told my dad it was on of the worse mines he worked in but he needed just a few more years to retire thank you for covering the disaster: quick edit thank yall for the nice comments and a do appreciate them

[@paul6925]

🙏

[@willj1598]

RIP to Joe and all the others we lost that day. I hope when people flip a light switch or turn on their heat they take a moment to reflect on the true cost of those conveniences. Nobody should be required to gamble their life to make it to retirement.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Damn. RIP Joe Marcum. I feel for your family, mate.

[@thefisherking78]

OMG.. sorry for your loss

[@nowinter7355]

How tragic. I'm sorry for your loss.

[@Explosionman27]

I'm from the area, and one thing people don't mention when discussing this disaster is that the conditions at UBB rapidly deteriorated as Don neglected his managerial duties to pursue politics. He already liked to cut corners beforehand, such as when he would make people work while injured or in standing water. He would also prevent his managers from sending in incident reports because the resulting safety investigations would reveal him leaving work. Conditions were not good prior to Blankenship being promoted, but after that point, he would replace all of his immediate staff with yes men. They would enable him and allow him to keep his position even after Massey became aware of the flooding of a shaft that previous spring. Following the explosion, Blankenship would try to run for governor and the state senate, but his political aspirations started way earlier and contributed to the deaths of 29 people.

[@Porty1119]

I'm curious about the standing water statement - I'm guessing it's an issue because of trailing cables on miners and shuttle cars? I work underground gold and working in six inches of water is normal, but we have zero electricity to the face - everything is pneumatic or diesel.

[@Robbedem]

I can see several problems with standing water but since I'm not a miner I don't know which ones are actually a problem: - electricity - diseases - degradation of equipment (mainly rust forming) - risk of falling when walking -...@@Porty1119

[@GodDamnitTwitch]

I just want you to know that an American in the middle of the desert now uses the sentence "Mr music play us out please" on a regular basis because of you. so thank you for your influence I just love the way that sentence rolls off the tongue.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

That’s awesome thank you!!

[@igrim4777]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aarCmZuJlM5pnLssi=VXF_ev8LrOAgb0fn

[@The_ZeroLine]

Cool story, bro.

[@AmigosRetroGaming]

I'm in WV and have been for all my life. Pretty much all the coal companies are crooked, low end, and generally don't care about the miners. My grandfather worked the mines for 50 years plus, and my uncles and cousins did the same. The UBB disaster was a national alert to the HORRIBLE state of mining conditions...I don't know how much it changed things. Honestly, I think more lives have been saved by the reduced usage of coal..double edged sword there. Blankenship, the mine owner, had the unmitigated gall to run for office after his release from prison. Even this state isn't moronic enough to elect that scumbag.

[@filanfyretracker]

I think coal country has always been full of corrupt mine bosses. After all a miner works 16 tons and what do they get?

[@JillC2]

Nothing much has changed since Blair Mountain.

[@Moshmaschine]

@@filanfyretracker Another day older and deeper in debt.

[@sandrinakeffufal6008]

Thank you for letting us know that he didn't get voted in 👍

[@Nothingseen]

Coal is a bad fuel! I wish you guys would stop letting companies steal your mountains to sell coal to China!

[@cris_261]

Massey CEO: I'm a victim! 29 deceased miners: liar

[@railgap]

Plutocrats gonna plutocrat.

[@willj1598]

Thanks for covering this. The length of the video doesn't allow to cover the many, many rules broken, the complete disregard for safety and the willful acts of management. The MSHA reports are very detailed and damning of the mine operator and the inspection process. More people needed to go to jail for this.

[@MrGoesBoom]

Agreed, it sounds like the fallout of this was relatively mild for the company...actively doing all of that and treating their employees that way, actively breaking the law....less than $500 million in fines ( how much of that went anywhere near the people hurt by all this I wonder ) and one year in jail ( likely white collar jail at that )....

[@iivin4233]

Jail is kinda soft when multiple people have died.

[@willj1598]

@@iivin4233 It's a joke. Upper management and owners are shielded from almost any criminal prosecution. The fact that this guy got jail time at all was huge news and that is shameful. It doesn't help that I'm pretty sure some MSHA people were negligent and possibly complicit in this accident. There was a restaurant or shop up the road where the inspectors would stop up the road for coffee. The shop would call tell the mine they were on their way and they would turn on the fans and water and try to make the place look safe. A bunch of people should be in prison for this

[@Vicus_of_Utrecht]

I think the video did just fine.

[@willj1598]

@@Vicus_of_Utrecht The video was great. I was just saying there were multiple stories within the story he couldn't cover without making the video more of a long documentary. He edited it well, I work in mining and I have spent a lot of time studying this incident, not everyone would be interested in that level of detail.

[@Emulleator]

one year in prison for causing that many deaths? what a joke

[@alisonwilson9749]

I agree, but in the UK he'd not have got jail time at all- the laws are written to protect the rich even more here. Though in general our H&S is better because our laws on what you have to do are stronger, our present right-wing government have cut inspections/prosecutions to the bone.

[@railgap]

Plutocrats gonna plutocrat.

[@maxstr]

That's actually extremely rare for any CEO, I'm surprised he got any prison time at all.

[@The_ZeroLine]

This is how it’s always been. You can get 20 years for stealing a car. But cause a nationwide economic collapse that results in thousands of deaths for reasons stemming from that and you get zero days.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

The state of WV ranks last of 50 states in almost every indicator along with Alabama and Mississippi

[@ulin4226]

I used to work for the company you referenced having made the shearer and I spent a lot of time in various customer's mines. The ones owned by Massey were the worst and I was always glad to get out at the end of the day. Glad to have gotten out of that business without any injuries.

[@detritiv0re144]

Privatise the profits, socialise the risks and the losses.

[@WouldntULikeToKnow.]

Ain't that the mf'ing truth.

[@vanguze]

I remember when this happened, my grandfather died of black lung so I have always had a curiosity for mines in our state of WV. I appreciate this video.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!!

[@yakacm]

Here's something I don't think a lot of people know, but methane doesn't smell of farts, in fact it doesn't smell of anything. The gas that we cook and heat our homes with, what is know as natural gas in the UK, is methane, and as such, as I said it doesn't smell, so a smell is added to the gas before it is sent out to users, so that if there's a gas leak we can detect it. Here's the funny thing, the chemical used to add a smell to natural gas is mercaptan, and mercaptan is also 1 of the chemicals that make farts smell bad.

[@hrmanager97]

TIL...lol

[@ferretyluv]

We call it natural gas in North America as well. It’s just greenwashed marketing from Big Oil.

[@trevormillar1576]

Actually the smelly fa's in facts is the same gas released by rotten eggs: hydrogen sulphide, a.k.a sulphuretted hydrogen, or H2S.

[@mormornie]

maybe one day dear Jon Plainly gets to covering the disaster after which that was added!! (New London School disaster in 1937)

[@slome815]

@@ferretyluv Rofl, it's called natural gas because it's the type of (flammable) gas that is most common in nature, and sometimes comes to the surface without human intervention (mount chimaera's eternal fires for example, now called yanartaş in turkish). It has been called this for at least two centuries, even before it's commercial use. The common gas used for heating well into the early 20th century was coal or "town" gas.

[@guildpactminish]

Thank you for covering this. I live in Raleigh county West Virginia and my father was an underground miner at an adjoining mine when this occurred. I’ll never forget the feeling of relief my mother and I felt when he was finally able to call and let us know he was alive. Cell phones weren’t prevalent at the time so the workers had to take turns with the landline phones and just got a minute to call their family and let them know they were ok. Many friends and neighbors never got that call. The sad part is many miners and regular people still support Don Blankenship.

[@ferretyluv]

Miners supporting Blankenship is like someone supporting the Leopards Eating Faces Party and being shocked when their face gets eaten.

[@QT5656]

​@@ferretyluv Many useful idiots can be found online simping for Du Pont, Purdue, and ExxonMobil. Turkeys supporting Christmas.

[@saragrant9749]

“I would claim he was a prick” oh man I couldn’t have put it better if I tried!!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@meatharbor]

Sooo... Some "cost of doing business" fines and a year in Club Fed for one guy? Sounds about right.

[@Anthonyelmio2]

Most of the time, it is always cost cutting 😢

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Sadly true

[@brianbarrett2487]

Quite the conundrum...excited to watch new content on people's suffering! What a thing we call "History"

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Indeed

[@jamesmeppler6375]

This sounds like a comment made from a ancient Roman citizen about to go to the coliseum. Oh today we get to watch more people suffer. How barbaric sounding

[@alexjenner1108]

Please do one of these on the Pike River mine disaster in the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand. This one also had 29 dead and despite one attempt to recover the bodies, no bodies were recovered and the mine is still considered to be too dangerous for recovery. No one went to jail, some companies were fined and one Government minister resigned after it was reported that there were major failings in the Department of Labour.

[@mark77193]

I was going to suggest this also.

[@reachandler3655]

You forgot cost cutting on the bingo card! Sentenced to 1 year, for negligence resulting in 29 deaths?! 🤬

[@zootjitsu6767]

Actually insane. Meanwhile if you end up killing a burglar you are charged with murder and will most likely get more time

[@poeticsilence047]

I was thinking the same thing. There was a reason why they did all those things.

[@poeticsilence047]

​@zootjitsu6767 shit they will throw the book at you and family would sue saying he robbed you at gun point because he was trying to feed his family of 10.

[@borntoclimb7116]

Just one year

[@railgap]

Plutocrats gonna plutocrat.

[@krazeemunkee80]

My dad was on the mantrip about to enter the mine when it exploded, he said it blew him back out of his seat. Really messed with him for a while

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Holy crap, your dad is a lucky guy! Im glad he walked away from this, but man i bet that weighed on him in its own ways.

[@saraschu2735]

Survivor's guilt is a tough one. Hope your dad is doing okay these days

[@BaneKing57]

Thank you. Now every time I hear about a disaster, I always wonder if you're going to cover it.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!!

[@barrymcclung9046]

Thanks for this. My dad's family were either railroaders or West Virginia coal miners. They faced minor such incidents all their lives. May all fallen miner's rest in peace

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@dat581]

In another life I was an Underground Coal Deputy. The management at this pit sound quite a lot like the last mine I ever worked at. So many safety violations and the only thing that saved them from a huge accident was the lack of gas in that mine. I was trained in another district that had some of the gassiest mines in the World and we were extremely safety conscious. That put a big target on my back and a few others that came from the same district. I was happy to get out of there.

[@ferretyluv]

Send in anonymous complaints to OSHA.

[@dat581]

@@ferretyluv I just might have sent a little evidence to a few relevant government organisations. Oops!

[@theformertexan1642]

Man, any company ignoring MSHA safety requirements is bold. They have zero chill! Having worked in mining years ago, the idea that any modern mining outfit ignoring safety protocols is mind blowing. Maybe things are just different in Massachusetts I guess, but having seen this video, I'm glad I did my work here, and with an aboveboard company that took my safety seriously.

[@Aaron-zu3xn]

bob murray and men like him felt the law didn't apply to them because they had enough money to make govt policy change

[@mobile_vic]

Thank you for the coverage on this disaster - a friend's family was affected by this tragedy. For future mining in the US disasters, MSHA is typically pronounced "em-SHA" instead of spelled as an initialism. [Like OSHA being "oh-SHA"]

[@TheGelasiaBlythe]

This was so sad. I've had an interest in these awful (and preventable) disasters for years. So, thank you for bringing attention to this. Also, a big thank you for all of your other awesome productions (especially the train ones, though I love it all)!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you I really appreciate it!

[@paulpiacentini]

I agree! I was pleased to hear about the 12 months porridge. I would have been righteously delighted if it had been 12 years - because it should have been. Down with The Man.

[@nowinter7355]

Down with a cold at home, this notification really brightened my day, even though it's about tragedy and death. Thank you for keeping up the good work.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I hope you get better soon!

[@nowinter7355]

@@PlainlyDifficultThank you!

[@b1646717]

Mine owners know MSHA is loathe to shut them down. The inspector knows it won’t be the owners who are going hungry and homeless when the gates close.

[@BlairdBlaird]

You'd assume if a mine gets shut down for unsafe operations the company would have to cover the unemployment *they caused*, but obviously it would not be the united states of america if companies were hit right in the wallet.

[@kawaiiarchive357]

12:09 I don't usually laugh at Plainly Difficult videos but I got a good chuckle.

[@paul6925]

I must be sick because I often laugh at some of the animations and comments 😂

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@paul6925 That bit at 3:41 explaining methane from the perspective of teenage boys (or my 10 yr old niece) was definitely worth a laugh.

[@paul6925]

@@thing_under_the_stairs 😂 very true

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@paul6925Everybody's got their inner 10 year old. Mine loved that bit.

[@paul6925]

@@thing_under_the_stairs 🍑🔥 lmao

[@danielle3064]

I don't know how to message you John, but a bridge just collapsed in Baltimore MD and there is incredible video of it

[@zayb7803]

I know it’s sad but i’m glad i’m not the only one who thought of coming here lol

[@TechOne7671]

When a disaster happens due to a technical failure I find the investigation interesting whether it be a plane, train,boat or structure but when it comes down to sheer negligence or financial gain I find it just sickening. Another good video John. Cheers mate.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

That's terrible and all, but did you notice the state of that kettle? The amount of limescale is giving me a concern!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Its an old video, but were we used to live the water was very hard!!

[@flygirl6048]

I go through a lot of vinegar cleaning my kettle! Hard water is awful

[@evenmoor]

@@PlainlyDifficult Where I grew up, the water was pretty hard - it was impossible to get a lather with soap of any kind, and the mineral build-up was rather annoying. A significant portion of our water was groundwater rather than imports (despite being a major suburban area in an overall arid region, there was a reasonably high water table). So we the consumers either had to filter the water on our end or just live with our local mineral-water. I mean, it could've been much worse; our local water company was well-developed and well-funded.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@PlainlyDifficultI feel your pain. My kettle is just as bad, and I just don't *want* to scrub it again yet.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

​@@PlainlyDifficult that can be a pain! I had to start using distilled in my kettle to help save on the scale.

[@travellingartistfilm]

Some of these comments remind me why I'm moving back to my homeland Spain, after living in WV as an outspoken communist working in manufacturing and advocating for unions, only to be discriminated against and pushed out illegally (P&G contractor D.B. schenker forklift operator in Martinsville) They worked us to the bone, 12 hour night shifts, all of us walked away with injuries we couldn't report or we'd get disciplined. Great video as always John!

[@188tate]

Laughed my ass off when you said “he claimed he was a political prisoner I claim he’s a prick.” 😂 great content! Love your videos.

[@grapeshot]

On my paternal side of the family, I come from a long line of coal miners. My great-grandfather and my grandfather were West Virginia coal miners in the Beckley area.

[@giggiddy]

Its interesting that no matter the topic and how much information is available on said topic. That it can be covered in a video 15 minutes long or less. Hmmmm

[@BlairdBlaird]

@@giggiddy It really is not if you actually engage your neurons for a second, it's just part of edition which has been a component of messaging since the dawn of formal messaging: you adapt the telling to the target audience and medium And John's medium is 15mn youtube videos. John literally linked the reports from the WVMHST in the description if you want more details, or you can get the MSHA's trivially by just looking it up.

[@giggiddy]

@@BlairdBlaird Nicely put. Now let me nicely put this. I engage my neurons for a living. But these short videos have nowhere near the depth and detail that others have on the same topic. And while you may be impressed with the stupidly short videos watched by stupidly short attention spanned people on TikTok and the like. I dont subscribe to it and its turning our population into retards with the attention span of a sperm cell. Do as you wish. But I'm weeding out short content creators and I hope that these shorties don't continue because I genuinely enjoy this content. Cheers

[@aT0000my]

Managers, with incentives to increase profits will...increase profits in creative ways. We the people need to elect lawmakers who will protect the people. Hopefully the people we elect will not be greedy or under the influence of said Managers.

[@inlovewithgoats1092]

Please more mining accidents! They fit the channel really well and seem like an endless source of new content

[@peter5.056]

The Baltimore Dali disaster will surely be on your bucket list of videos, no doubt?

[@LZ-zi3ll]

You are one of my favorite YT creators and I realized I never like and comment on your videos… so here you go, Plainly John. I should remember to do it more often.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!!

[@LZ-zi3ll]

@@PlainlyDifficult Out of curiosity, have you considered joining Nebula? Would love to see you on there (and support you with my subscription). 🙂

[@michaelwebber4033]

There was a similar mine explosion here in New Zealand at the Pike River mine. The major difference is no one survived and the mine has been permanently closed ever since.

[@AlistairKiwi]

Horrible negligence. This is why unions were needed - just for basic worker protection. Ok, so I finally made my own Plainly Difficult bingo card!

[@dizzylilthing]

​@@relectric69I loved my union. starting wage was 25% more than non-unionized positions in the field, guaranteed 12 hours between shifts instead of 8, paid time off in case of injury requiring hospitalization even if you weren't scheduled, guaranteed raises every 500 hours worked, no outside hires for upper positions without thoroughly exhausting internal options, collective bargaining rights during labor disputes, a lawyer on retainer if the company did anything to violate a union right, and unlimited power for workers to say "lemme ask the union rep real quick..." as an ICBM against literally anything that didn't seem right? I miss that shit.

[@FarmhouseRailroad]

With that many violations in the five-year period before the disaster one has wonder why the operation hadn't been shutdown. Failure of the system that is supposed to keep miners safe.

[@spiderzvow1]

Always remember, ur job does not care about you

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Very true advise!

[@Faithsoo]

Thank you for covering this disaster. This happened in my community and I can still remember the day it occurred as I was in middle school around that time. It rocked our community so hard that school was called off for a week. 3 generations of a single family passed in that explosion, some of which my brothers were very close to and worked with at one point. I still see the father of one of the men in the area. I still have family working in those mines and the Coal Industry in the Appalachians is still very flawed. However with more people becoming educated about the dangers of Coal Mining I hope that it can shed like on the safety of the industry.

[@landofgrundo]

Thanks for uploading, always really enjoy your videos

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Glad you like them!

[@Parasiteve]

seems like a pattern here! all these disasters happen because of greedy companies who want money first and saftey last. with how much its happened you'd think it would have stopped already but human greed knows no bounds....they see what can happen but still risk it. just gross...

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Sadly true

[@amandap9332]

It's only partially the corporations fault. Most of the fault lies on WE average citizens of the world. End the monetary system entirely and permanently. Adopt a resource based economy instead. Change the incentive, change the behavior that results. It's simpler than we think.

[@rcrawford42]

For the really big disasters you have to look to government greed for power.

[@inconnu4961]

@@rcrawford42Exactly! Stop taxing everyone into the poor house and corporations wouldnt have to skimp on safety!

[@QT5656]

​@@inconnu4961 😂😂😂 corporate profits are higher than ever.

[@whosyrpapy7639]

Best way to wake up! Love the vids!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Glad you like them!

[@TrondBørgeKrokli]

I thought that "Cost cutting" would have been a given spot to check on the bingo card, but maybe I missed something in the video.

[@BenKonosky]

I blocked of that space on my card when he said "They didn't do the necessary prep work to bring the machine back into the mine.

[@MTG69]

I love this channel, such serious subjects, but the animations are fricking hilarious.

[@Screamblade_]

Always important to learn from these events...

[@carlys7598]

12:13 haha this is why I love listening to you tell these stories John, you dont hold back in calling out these people and companies for their actions.

[@Nobe_Oddy]

How could you run a company that does SUCH DANGEROUS WORK but just NOT CARE ABOUT THE WORKERS???? We should NEVER ALLOW PSYCHOPATHS TO BECOME CEOs!!!!

[@switzerland3696]

Pike River in NZ was the same, 29 dead too.

[@theangrycolossal]

Somehow I had never heard about this disaster despite it being well within my living memory (occuring while I would have been in college) and it happening in North America. I wonder if part of the reason it's relatively unknown is that the Deepwater Horizon disaster occured only two weeks later, completely overshadowing it

[@jacobmeisner9255]

Would love seeing more mining content! As an avid nerd for both safety and mining.

[@MmmHuggles]

Too many companies get a slap on the wrist for their wrongdoings. Their profits made by their wrongdoings far outweigh any "punishments", so they have an incentive to keep doing it. I think fines for companies should be at least 85% of their profits over the period of the wrongdoings with those fines going mostly to the people affected and some of course going to fund compliance checks and such.

[@Bob-nc5hz]

12:10 hear hear. I was convinced Plainly Difficult had already done an episode on Massey and Blankenship's previous disasters (Martin County and Aracoma) but apparently I imagined it.

[@teddyd633]

I'm from Inez Kentucky so I know all about the Martin County mine slurry flood and how things get resolved if a mining co is involved.

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

I was a kid when this happened but I remember the days afterward it was pretty surreal, our school as well as the other local schools did “stripe days” where you’d wear a shirt or pants or both with a stripe pattern on them to mimic the reflective safety stripes worn on miners uniforms, being a bunch kids of coal miners or coal industry workers we wore our fathers actual reflective shirts. One kid’s father was a mine rescuer who worked something like 20 hours on site recovering the dead, the FBI would show up to his house later and begin taking he statement for the investigation. I work in the coal industry now, in a coal plant nothing about the job is safe regardless of rules, same goes for underground mining. I hope you also cover the 1969 Consolidated Mine explosion at Farmington No. 9, Farmington West Virginia. That was arguably a worse disaster than UBB

[@daemonburns-waight2421]

Longtime subscriber, early congrats on 1M subs!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you we are so close!

[@coopbrown7866]

I was hoping you'd delve into this disaster! The Governor's report has a perturbing mention you may have missed: Massey executives went into the mine alone after the disaster, hours before rescuers or inspectors were permitted in to begin operations. The inspectors later noted spent self-rescue breathers (SCSR) had been removed from victims and piled around the explosion area. Executives have never explained what they were doing in the mine.

[@daltonwilson2553]

As a West Virginia, thank you for this.

[@inconnu4961]

How many people die annually from meth in West Virginia? i bet its a LOT more than mining accidents!!

[@kirakaffee9976]

​@@inconnu4961well...call OSHA for your unsafe working conditions in the meth industry :p plz record this.

[@newtagwhodis4535]

I love the repect you give for all life. You earned my respect early and held it my friend. Thank you so much for this fascinating content. Best to you and yours.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

Mining is pretty relevant to us Australians, my uncle managed the Bellbird Colliery so I got to do down as a kid. Then I lived in an old mining town, Lithgow NSW, where some shafts were collapsed around town. I bought next to the old pub bcoz ~1850 they agreed not to tunnel under that building [true]. So I'm down with mining stories. Cheers John.

[@zetectic7968]

3 jobs I'm happy not to have work on: coal mining, deep sea fishing & high voltage electricty. Another example of US companies ignoring health & safety standards because profits are more important plus enforcement is far too lacks.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Im just a regualar electrician, i do up to 480v but those linemen dealing with Up to and above 10kv are a different breed.

[@ferretyluv]

Laws do exist. The problem is Republican defunding of the government means inspectors are infrequent and violations are put on the backburner and rarely followed up on.

[@Engine33Truck]

Excellent video. I’ve lived near there all my life, currently work for the FD that responded to UBB. A good friend of mine lost his dad in that, and I have many other friends who had a friend or relative there.

[@codedlulu8821]

John am sure you've heard about the bridge collapse I Biltmore Maryland.

[@hollieBlu303]

Love John's videos! Man's a LEGEND...and I have that kettle

[@JesseMcCullough]

Profits over people, the environment, the law, ethics, and whatever else.

[@teddymartinii1979]

West Virginia is such a beautiful place, but the people there still long for the "good old days" of coal mining. They see mining jobs as good jobs, even though it kills them. Not just mine disasters, but the slower, under the radar deaths from black lung and cancer.

[@railgap]

Can I say that you knocked the writing out of the park in this one, thoroughly enjoyed it, dark as the subject may be, you always bring a sort of wry humor to unpleasant subjects without being disrespectful to victims. My life has been , ahem, "challenging" lately, and I this AM as I sat down/woke up with my coffee, I really needed a smile, and you gave me that. Humor, after all, is a coping mechanism for pain... hearing about folks who are yet worse off than I (in many cases, sadly, cuz deceased) doesn't hurt either. There but for the grace of Gaia go I. I note you are about to cross into 1M subs which is amazing and awesome - I hadn't been keeping track - and I must say your popularity is well deserved. Carry on!

[@j4dai]

Thank you! I've been reading about countless mine incidents for a while after one of my favorite characters was inspired by one of these mine accidents. It was the Blantyre mining explosion over in Scotland. Glad to see the cover over here. ❤

[@michelletheado]

If your covering mine disasters, any chance you could add Sago to your list? Although not nearly as deadly, the rescue operation was grossly mismanaged (Mine management even told victims families they had been found alive a full 24 hours before they were actually found), and the mine's owner not only avoided any consequences, but would eventually be appointed US Secretary of Commerce - Wilber Ross.

[@ferretyluv]

*you’re

[@michelletheado]

@@ferretyluv You caught "Your", but missed "Mine's" - Great job :P

[@jiggsborah7041]

I worked for years in south African coal mining. It's law here to use stonedust to help prevent coal dust explosion. I didn't like working the longwall because of the goaf ... the unsupported area behind the support jacks. Sometimes the roof would hang then drop and the displacement was very dangerous. We had to fix ourselves with a length of chain to something solid because the displacement could hurl you against something and kill you dead. The other problem was that the air would rush through the crosscuts knocking coal dust off the walls and making the environment extremely explosive. We did it because longwall mining pays big. That cutter doesn't play. It cuts like crazy and we usually only had to work a few hours to make shift quotas. We couldn't push more because the bunkers were full.

[@JFirn86Q]

Sounds like it's always cold there in UK - come to Arizona mate, nothing but sun sun sun!

[@shoewipe]

Can’t wait to hear you talk about the Baltimore situation

[@JohnReb-k2h]

Wow this was pretty great! I love mine stories. Too bad though about the loss of lives.

[@twocvbloke]

Mining is always a dangerous business, but when the bosses say to ignore safety rules to make stuff happen faster, well, that just makes it far worse an occupation, and that boss only got a year in prison, which frankly should have been decades for all the lives lost due to the violations he made happen....

[@emilschw8924]

Lovely company caring about the safety of its workers...

[@mitchbelectronics]

Hi John, Loved this video! I have a great one for you from Western Australia. We once had a asbestos mining town called Wittenoom. To this day it’s killed an estimated 2000 people, a very interesting and sad story indeed.

[@Mattijjah85]

"He claimed he was a political prisoner, but I would claim he is a prick!"

[@russell7489]

Love the new scoring system Great episode

[@tupolev792]

coal mines are dirty places to work but the companies are so much dirtier. Thanks for covering this. sidenote: MHSA is actually MSHA, the mining equivalent of OSHA and usually is pronounced em-sha. They do great work and are full of great folk.

[@harrypeterson9287]

Coal dust explosions can undergo deflagration to detonation transition given the correct conditions. Essentially, it begins to burn as the result of some ignition source and as the fire generates heat and gasses the burn rate accelerates exponentially due to the compression of the dust and air ahead of the flame front, a positive feedback loop if you will. If this flame speed breaks the sound barrier the resulting sonic boom can self sustainingly compress the fuel/air mixture to autoignition temperature reaching detonation velocities of well over 1,000 meters per second. This results in absurd pressures, equivalent to perhaps 100 times or greater the force of an F5 hurricane's.

[@1lonecrow]

Thanks ...that was interesting...

[@filanfyretracker]

dust explosions are some of the most dangerous, Hell people have in the past tried to design engines that run on coal dust and work similar to a diesel.

[@1lonecrow]

@@harrypeterson9287 Why the weird comment ? I thought it was interesting to know about the pressure and how it amplifies the fuck out of the explosion... Thanks again 😉

[@harrypeterson9287]

@@1lonecrow Sorry, man. Your excessive use of punctuation gave me the impression that you were being sarcastic. 😅

[@1lonecrow]

@@harrypeterson9287 All good ... Have a great day !

[@ausnorman8050]

1Million subs getting pretty close!

[@NAB622]

You might consider looking into Mammoth mine in Pennsylvania! There's a park there now, with a sign to commemorate the incident.

[@skatergunny]

You've got yourself another bridge collapse video. Baltimore bridge was just struck by a container ship causing an almost 100% collapse

[@frednone]

Once again we see cheapest is most expensive.

[@michelsolon2937]

29 dead people, 200 million in fines and a life long sentence on the horizon... The CEO : "Nah, I would win Unfortunately he did win, and got away whith murder. My deepest condolences to the families❤

[@artisticendeavors5076]

Such a great and underestimated channel.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!!

[@andrewhallock2548]

Thank you for another reasoned video.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@grmpEqweer]

Here early for once! love your work, mr John.

[@TwitchyyTac0s]

You should do the Pike River Mine disaster,Great video! Very Informative.