West Virginia Holmes Safety Association Honors Peabody's Terry Hudson as Safety Leader and Harris Mine for Excellence in Safety

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Holmes Safety Association has named Director of Safety and Training for Appalachia Operations Terry Hudson "West Virginia's 2005 Safety Leader" and honored Peabody's Appalachia operations for safety performance. For the sixth consecutive year, the Harris Mine was honored with a Holmes Safety Award. In addition, the Harris Beltline earned a Pacesetter Award. Both are operated by Peabody subsidiary Eastern Associated Coal, LLC.

Hudson, a 31-year veteran manager of Appalachia safety operations, was recognized by the association for his distinguished industry leadership in safety. He was instrumental in developing Peabody's Center of Excellence in Appalachia, which provides skills training for new miners, technicians, engineers and other career tracks. The Center has trained more than 1,700 individuals since opening in the fall of 2005. Hudson also has led the region's emergency preparedness and mine rescue training, and serves on the Governor's Technology Task Force.

Safety Leader recipients are selected by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.

"Excellence in safety is a core value and part of our mission," said Jiri Nemec, Group Vice President of Eastern Operations for Peabody. "We're proud to have leaders like Terry, who has dedicated his career to developing best practices for a safe workplace, and we applaud our Harris Mine employees for their leadership in striving toward our safety vision of zero incidents."

Harris Mine was honored for the best incidence rate for underground mines producing more than 1 million tons during the year and for outstanding service and contribution to mine safety. Harris Beltline also was honored for achieving the best incident rate for underground mines employing less than 30 employees.

Harris Mine is located in Wharton, with approximately 350 workers and shipped more than 2 million tons of coal last year.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2005 sales of 240 million tons of coal and $4.6 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel approximately 10 percent of all U.S. and 3 percent of worldwide electricity.

CONTACT Beth Sutton (505) 287-2636