Investigations into last year’s coal mine disaster in West Virginia that killed 29 people have found the mine owner squarely responsible. The former federal mine safety chief Davitt McAteer led the investigation into the worst American mining disaster in 40 years. Jessica Lilly, reporter for West Virginia Public Radio shares the on the community's reaction.

• RALEIGH TAKEOUT: We take a closer look at the mine blast in Raleigh County, West Virginia, hearing from Chuck Nelson, a former miner, who tells us why mining is so important to the culture of the county. 
• LISTENERS TAKEOUT: Beyond the sadness, condolences and concern our listeners asked another question: should the acquisition of energy still be so dangerous?

Monday night's explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia, left 25 confirmed dead and four more miners missing underground. Rescue operations were stalled yesterday because conditions were deemed too dangerous. The mine is owned by Massey Energy Company, which was immediately criticized for allowing egregious and numerous safety violations. Massey's CEO, Don Blankenship, responded in an interview with the Metronews radio network in West Virginia, saying, “violations are unfortunately a normal part of the mining process. There are violations at every coal mine in America.”

The worst U.S. mining disaster in more than 25 years has us thinking about life in modern mining towns like the one in Raleigh County, W.Va., where 25 people were killed after an explosion yesterday. We’re reaching out to people in these communities to ask about working in the mines.

What are the benefits and the safety concerns? How do you reconcile the two?

I remember the waiting.

It's been more than four years since I stood on the mouth of a coal mine, waiting for word on the fate of two missing miners. It was January 2006, at the Aracoma Mine in southern West Virginia. I was covering the story for West Virginia Public Radio. A fire had broken out in an underground mine and two men were missing. That alone was tragic enough, but it came just a few weeks after the Sago Mine Disaster, where 12 men died –  11 of them after they were poisoned by bad air while they waited for rescue.