SAFETY IN MINING

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SAFETY IN MINING

• 100 Years of Progress

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Mine Safety Legislation

• Many of us have a tendency to resent what we
  perceive as unwarranted government interference
  in our lives.
• We may even resent laws and regulations that are
  designed to keep us safe.
• However, before we condemn the Mine Safety and
  Health Act of 1977, lets take a look back at an
  unregulated mining industry.

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In The Beginning

• As early as 1865 a
• bill was introduced
• to create a Federal
• Mining Bureau. It
• did not pass.
• Little was done until
• a series of disasters
• occurred after the
• turn of the century.

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Open Flame Lights

• The early miners light was a teapot shaped lamp
  that featured a rope wick encased in a long spout.

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The lamp burned whale oil, which was poured into
the pot through an opening at the top.
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Filled with oil and ready to be lit, the lamp was
placed on the hat.
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The miner was now ready to enter the mine.
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The oil lamp was replaced by the carbide light.
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The bottom half of the light was filled with
carbide, the top with water. Turning the lever
permitted water to drip onto the carbide. This
combination produced acetylene gas.
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The gas was ignited by a flint wheel and produced
an acetylene flame about 1 inch in length.
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Carbide Light

• Although it improved visibility in the mine, the
  carbide light was every bit as dangerous to use
  as the oil lamp.

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Time Line - 1891

• The first Federal mine safety statute became law
  in 1891.
• Its provisions covered underground coal mine
  ventilation and barred mine operators from
  employing children under the age of 12 in
  underground mines.

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The laws impact was negligible.
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Coal was processed for market in Breakers.
There it was sized and the impurities removed.
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Much of the physical work in the Breaker was
performed by boys between the ages of 8 and 12.
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Breaker Boys

• The Breaker Boys were responsible for picking
  the slate from the coal.
• They were aligned in rows across chutes of moving
  coal and sat hunched there for hours.
• They worked 9 10 hour days under very difficult
  conditions.

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Some breakers employed as many as 200 boys.
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They faced a seemingly endless supply of coal.
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The conditions they worked under were deplorable.

• The dust and noise were beyond imagination.
• They suffered through the heat of summer and the
  cold of winter.
• The boys worked under the watchful eye of the
  breaker boss, whose ready stick was available to
  unplug chutes and administer discipline.

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There were no social supports during the early
1900s.

• There was no Social Security.
• There was no Workers Compensation.
• Miners unable to work were left to fend on their
  own.
• Some found work back in the Breaker.
• A labor contract from the early 1900s contained
  the job title Boys, Old Men Cripples.

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Many careers started ended in the breaker.
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Door Boys

• From all accounts the boys looked forward to
  their 12th birthday and the transfer it brought
  to a position underground.
• They were assigned to strategic locations and
  were responsible for opening closing
  ventilation doors.

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The working conditions and job duties of the door
boys were an improvement over work in the Breaker.
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When the door boy heard a trip approaching he
would open the door and permit them to pass.
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Drivers

• By the time they were 14 most boys were promoted
  to driver.
• They would deliver empty ore cars to the miners
  and pull out the loaded ones.

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• When a boy could handle one mule, he was given
  another.
• When he could handle two, he was given a third,
  and so forth until he could drive six mules.
• The ability to handle six mules resulted in adult
  wages.

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Time Line 1900 - 1910

• Roof falls, haulage accidents, and explosions
  killed thousands of miners.
• The deadliest year was 1907 when 3,242 miners
  perished.

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Monongah - 1907

• The Monongah Mine of the Fairmont Mining Company
  was a state of the art operation.
• It used electrical power, rather than animal
  power for haulage.
• The 368 miners and their families lived in the
  town of Monongah.

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In December, 1907, the mine exploded.
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Rescuers found nothing but devastation and dead
miners.
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Monongah

• 363 miners were killed in the Monongah explosion.
• It was the deadliest mining accident in U.S.
  history.

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Monongah

• The town of Monongah was instantly transformed
  into a community of widows, orphans and dead men.

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1900 1910 Mining Deaths

• COAL
• 24,226

• METAL/NONMETAL
• ??

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Time Line - 1910

• In 1910 Congress established the Bureau of Mines.
• Dr. Joseph Holmes was named Director of Mines.

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Time Line 1911 - 1940

• The role of Federal inspectors was largely
  limited to rescue operations.
• To facilitate rescue efforts Dr. Holmes ordered
  eight specially designed rail cars.
• The cars, supplied with first aid and mine rescue
  equipment, were placed at strategic locations in
  the mining regions.

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When disasters occurred the nearest car was
rushed to the scene.
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Since all mining operations had rail access, the
cars could travel to the scene of any mining
disaster.
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First Aid and Mine Rescue Training

• In addition to their work in disasters, the
  Bureau of Mines cars doubled as roving classrooms.

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Thousands of miners were provided with first aid
training.
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Rescuers

• Special teams were trained in mine rescue
  techniques, including the use of breathing
  apparatus.

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The equipment used by rescue teams was often
primitive and provided limited protection.
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Rescuers

• Tragically, many rescuers, including those from
  the Bureau of Mines, were killed in rescue
  attempts.

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Bureau of Mines

• Despite the best efforts of Dr. Holmes and his
  staff, mining disasters continued to claim lives.
• Headlines such as these were all to frequent.

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Haulage accident 9 killed.
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Federal 97 Dead
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Tonopah

• Fire and explosion.

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• Bureau of Mines rescuers prepare to enter the
  Barrackville Mine 1916.

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1911 1940 Mining Deaths

• COAL
• 59,460

• METAL/NONMETAL
• 14,928

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Time Line - 1941

• Congress passed the Coal Mine Health and Safety
  Act a year after 257 miners die in four separate
  explosions.
• Federal inspectors have the right to enter mines
  but no safety or health regulations are mandated.
• The law expired after one year.

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Time Line 1947 thru 1951

• The 1947 Centralia explosion claims 111 victims
  just before Christmas, 1951, 119 die in an
  explosion.
• Federal inspectors can notify mine operators of
  violations, but there are no enforcement
  provisions.

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Centralia 111 Dead

• State mine inspectors warned of the dry and dusty
  conditions 3 times in the four months preceding
  the explosion.
• Rescuers were able to bring out 8 survivors, but
  one later died.

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1941 1950 Mining Deaths

• COAL
• 10,907

• METAL/NONMETAL
• 2,328

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Time Line - 1952

• Congress passes the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act.
• Underground coal mines are to be inspected
  yearly. Surface mines and operations with less
  than 15 employees are exempted.
• Federal inspectors have authority to issue
  withdrawal orders and notices of violations.

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1951 1965 Mining Deaths

• COAL
• 5,880

• METAL/NONMETAL
• 2,565

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In 1965 the Pennsylvania Legislature made it
illegal to stable mules underground.
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Time Line - 1966

• The 1952 Act is amended. Congress passes the
  Federal Metal and Nonmetallic Mine Safety Act.
• Coverage is extended to small underground coal
  mines.
• The law expands the scope of education and
  training programs.

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Time Line - 1969

• The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of
  1969 took effect a year after the explosion at
  Farmington killed 78 miners.
• The law included a training grant program.

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Time Line 1972 - 1976

• Ninety one miners die in a fire in 1972 at the
  Sunshine Mine at Kellogg, Idaho.
• In 1976, a pair of explosions at the Scotia Mine
  in Kentucky kill 26 people.

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The lack of effective evacuation sealed the fate
of the Sunshine miners.
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Rescuers discovered 36 bodies on the hoist room
floor.
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Scotia 26 Killed

• Rescue teams proceed cautiously.
• The first rescue attempt resulted in the deaths
  of 3 federal inspectors and 8 rescue team members.

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1966 1976 Mining Deaths

• COAL
• 2,127

• METAL/NONMETAL
• 1,869

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Time Line - 1977

• The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
  placed coal and metal/nonmetal mines under a
  single piece of legislation.
• Training of miners is mandatory under the Act.

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Findings and Purpose

• Congress declares that
• The first priority and concern of all in the coal
  or other mining industry must be the health and
  safety of its most precious resource the miner

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1977 1999 Mining Deaths

• COAL
• 1,787

• METAL/NONMETAL
• 1,553

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Title 30 CFR

• The Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 gave rise
  to a series of Federal regulations known as Title
  30, Code of Federal Regulations.

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1900 1999 Mining Deaths

• COAL
• 104,388

• METAL/NONMETAL
• 23,241

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Mining Fatalities

• During the 20th Century the number of mining
  fatalities totaled
• 127,629