Peabody Mine Rescue Teams Earn Four Championships at National U.S. Department of Labor Event

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 26  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peabody Energy teams earned four of the seven national championship trophies at the U.S. Department of Labor's National Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench and Preshift Competition in Nashville, Tenn. The bi-annual competition tests the skills of mine rescue and first aid teams in simulated emergencies and enables employees to hone their safety preparedness skills. Nearly 60 teams from 12 states competed, and multiple Peabody teams participated.

"We're proud of our leadership in safety readiness, which is core to our commitment to achieving world-class safety results," said Eric Ford, Peabody's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "These honors speak volumes about the caliber of our people and our constant attention to best practices."

Peabody's Southern Appalachia Operations team won first place overall in the combination mine rescue/first aid competition and first place in the mine rescue category, outperforming far more experienced competitors.

The company's Federal No. 2 team from Northern Appalachia took first place in the first aid competition, and Electrician Chuck Harvey of the Twentymile Mine in Colorado won the national BG-4 Benchman competition.

  Peabody's state and national award-winners include:

  National Mine Rescue Awards

  Combination Mine Rescue/First Aid  Southern Appalachia, 1st Place
  Mine Rescue                        Southern Appalachia, 1st Place
  First Aid                          Federal No. 2, 1st Place
                                     Southern Appalachia, 3rd Place
  Benchman BG-4                      Chuck Harvey, Twentymile Mine, 1st
                                      Place
                                     Mark Beauchamp, Twentymile Mine, 3rd
                                      Place


  1st Place State Awards

  West Virginia Combination Mine Rescue/First  Southern Appalachia
   Aid                                         Operations Team
  Illinois Mine Rescue                         Willow Lake Mine Team
  Kentucky Biomarine                           Mark Lloyd, Bluegrass Team
  West Virginia Mine Rescue                    Southern Appalachia
                                               Operations Team
  West Virginia Benchman BG-174A               Harry McGinnis, Federal No.
                                                2 Team
  West Virginia First Aid                      Federal No. 2 Team




Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2006 sales of 248 million tons of coal and $5.3 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel approximately 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and more than 2 percent of worldwide electricity.

  CONTACT
  Derrell Carter
  [phone]


DATASOURCE: Peabody Energy



CONTACT:  Derrell Carter of Peabody Energy, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.peabodyenergy.com/ 

Copyright