Death Trap: West Virginia Mine - Assignment Example

Investigations are ongoing. However, it is still unclear on the cause of the blast. Now all fingers are pointing at the leadership of Massey Company led by its belligerent C.E.O. Don L. Blankenship. Blankenship has been at the center of controversy when it comes to matters of safety measures. He tried to justify the violations by stating at one time that Violations are, unfortunately, a normal part of the mining process (Moore, 2011).

            The Massey Energy Company the biggest mining coal business in Central Appalachia has always been a host of fatalities. It has found itself under scrutiny that has unearthed dismaying records on safety measures in place. Reports state that as recently as last month it attracted hefty fines for inadequate ventilation as per the federal records. According to the federal prosecutor, the company has a record of having paid the highest settlement in terms of fines. The move is after the investigations proved him guilty of violating safety rules. The violations resulted in the death of two mineworkers who burned to their deaths following a fire outbreak in one of its mines. That year (2008) alone the company paid fines worth $20miilion another record for the Environmental Protection Agency for violations of clean water. Unfortunately, workers chose to remain mum on such issues, as they fear losing their jobs if they come aloud (Moore, 2011).

Gulf of Mexico: The spill

The Gulf oil spill is the nastiest oil spatter in American history. On 20 April 2010, the blast and tumbling of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico left 11 people dead. Cameras Underwater revealed that there was a leakage on the BP that leaked oil and gas on the bed of the ocean. To projection, 3.19 million barrels of oil emptied in the Gulf have been on the leak for about 87 days. The oil is situated over 5000 feet underneath the water surface in the cosmic leading edge of the deep sea. The surroundings are characterized by constant cold temperatures above the freezing level and very high pressures. Although immediately after the blast, experts rushed to the scene to try to identify what happened.  They have not made much out of it. Government agencies from most of the developed countries have put many resources together in efforts to control the oils from spreading to the beaches. The spill was devastating to the ecosystem in large volumes. Most intriguing is the fact that even after several years, the oil still engulfs the Gulf. The phenomenon explains the magnitude of the damage the spill had and continues to accrue in the ecosystem (Moore, 2011).

The environment suffers a great deal from human activities. Most companies whose business activities directly link to the environment lack sufficient safety measures. The same is evident in the case of the Massey mining company in Missouri. It is clear that the management of the company is more interested in profit-making at the expense of the world ecosystem and that of its workers. It is evident from the dismal record of accomplishment on health violations of its workers. Federal fines because of environmental acts violations among other undocumented events. Therefore, there is a need for the government as well as nongovernmental organizations to step in and concentrate undivided efforts to streamline such companies.