Changes

In December 2010, it was discovered reported that Massey miner Thomas Harrah said he used a forged foreman’s card to perform more than 200 pre-shift, on-shift, and conveyor belt safety inspections at the mine, according to documents obtained by The Charleston Gazette through the [[Freedom of Information Act]]. Harrah had been employed by Massey at the Upper Big Branch mine from January 2008 to August 2009, until state investigators learned that Harrah’s certification number belonged to another individual. By then, Harrah was working at another Massey Operation -- again under a certification number belonging to a different individual. The report said that while Harrah had a state license to work as a coal miner, he was unable to pass the test to become a certified mine foreman, who perform safety checks.<ref>Anne Moore, [http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=91005 "Newspaper: Upper Big Branch Foreman Forged License"] The State Journal, Dec. 13, 2010.</ref> Board members in March 2010 suspended Harrah's mining license for a year. Harrah was later charged with one count of falsifying required mine safety documents-when he signed a Dec. 16, 2008, safety examination report at Upper Big Branch using a fake foreman's certification number. The charges also allege that Harrah made false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to federal agents on Oct. 22, 2010, when he told FBI and U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration agents that [[Performance Coal]] gave him a foreman's certification number.<ref>Ken Ward Jr., [http://wvgazette.com/News/201103220714?page=2 "Massey worker charged with faking foreman's certificate"] The Charleston Gazette, March 22, 2011.</ref>