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Crushed Webster Co. Coal Miner Not Wearing Safety Device

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Federal investigators have concluded that a worker crushed to death by a machine at a western Kentucky coal mine wasn't wearing an emergency shut-off device, and that his managers had not provided a way to securely attach it.  

A U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration report says managers at Webster County Coal's Dotiki Mine knew about the problem but didn't address it, potentially exposing the company to a higher fine.  

Thirty-six-year-old Nathan Phillips was pinned to a wall while trying to move a continuous-mining machine in January. The report said his transmitter, designed to shut off the machine if he got too close, had been on the floor of the mine for about a half-hour before he was killed.

 

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