CNN: West Virginia tests 9 coal miners' air packs; all fail [View All]

[DeepModem Mom]

West Virginia tests 9 coal miners' air packs; all fail
September 1, 2006

(CNN) -- In a random test of nine emergency air packs used by West Virginia coal miners, all nine failed, the state's Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training said Thursday.

The CSE SR-100 is manufactured by Pennsylvania-based CSE Corp., which came under scrutiny after the lone survivor of the Sago Mine disaster sued it and other companies that supplied equipment used in the West Virginia mine.

Randy McCloy Jr., one of 13 men trapped after a January 2 explosion, spent 41 hours in the mine. The other 12 miners died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The lawsuit against CSE, filed last week, alleges that four of the air packs used by the miners were defective. However, CSE issued a statement Wednesday saying state investigators determined that each respirator was functioning properly.

CSE President Scott Shearer wouldn't say whether the Sago miners used SR-100s because of an ongoing federal investigation....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/01/miner.oxygen/index.html