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West Virginia's coal industry is in the news today - health, safety and life issues.
Massey Energy has been fined about $4,500 for safety violations the state says contributed to the death of miner David Neal.
WVU says a study found hospitalization rates rise with coal production and that coal pollution may kill 313 West Virginians a year.
Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training inspectors found the violations while investigating the December 4 accident at Massey's Stockton mine in Kanawha County.
Neal fell about 39 feet when a conveyor belt started unexpectedly while he was making repairs.
The 57-year-old Dixie man died 10 days later.
Massey was fined $1,700 because the electricity wasn't turned off and the belt wasn't locked.
A $1,250 fine was for a broken startup alarm and failure to provide a safety harness. Massey was also fined $256 because a power supply switch was broken.
Massey is the nation's fourth-largest coal producer by revenue and operates 19 mining complexes in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.
Meanwhile, WVU researchers say coal mining endangers public health for those who live in mining communities.
The researchers say living near a coal mine can be hazardous to your health.
West Virginia University researcher Michael Hendryx says people living in mining communities face higher risk of chronic heart, lung and kidney diseases.
WVU says Hendryx and Washington State University researcher Melissa Ahern found the risk of kidney disease rises 70 percent for residents of West Virginia mining communities.
The risk of emphysema and similar diseases is 64 percent higher.
The full study is to be published in the American Journal of Public Health next month.
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