Davitt McAteer , former leader of the Mine Safety and Health Administration , had harsh words for the disaster citing lessons unlearned from the 2006 Sago Mine disaster : " That was defining of Sago . That was one of the first things that we are not doing enough and we know how to remove methane and control dust problems and the fact that we had an explosion with methane or dust suggests that we are not doing enough to protect miners . ” Days before the disaster a United States Department of Labor report emerged entitled " Journeyman Mine Inspectors Do Not Receive Required Periodic Training " . The report detailed the federal government 's shortcomings in retraining its mine inspectors
Sago Mine disaster
Sago Mine disaster
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster