May 22, 2013
SCOTT DEPOT, W.Va. (AP) - International Coal Group plans to place air-tight shelters in all its underground coal mines, not just those in the two states that require them.
The Scott Depot-based company owns the Sago Mine in Upshur County, the site of a disaster that helped prompt West Virginia lawmakers to pass a law last year requiring the shelters.
I-C-G also operates mines in Kentucky and Illinois. Illinois followed West Virginia's lead in requiring shelters but Kentucky does not.
I-C-G Chief Executive Ben Hatfield says the company is committed to protecting its miners.
I-C-G says it chose an inflatable design made by Allentown, Pennsylvania-based ChemBio Shelter and Beckley-based A-L Lee Corporation.
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