Computer Glitch Missed Eight Safety Violations At Upper Big Branch Mine

WASHINGTON — A computer error prevented the West Virginia coal mine where 29 workers died in an explosion last week from receiving a warning about safety violations and a demand that the operator improve conditions in 90 days, federal officials said Tuesday. The director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration said the error discovered Monday night did not have an impact on the accident at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine because improvements had been made even without the warning. But the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Rep.