On December 6, 1907, a coal mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia, killed a reported 362 men and boys (unofficial estimates exceeded 500 deaths), marking the largest coal mining disaster in U.S. history. Of the 2534 mining-related fatalities that occurred in bituminous coal mines that year, 911 (36%) resulted from explosions of gas, coal dust, or a combination; 869 deaths occurred in only 11 incidents. The Monongah catastrophe catalyzed public awareness and led to passage of the Organic Act of 1910, which established the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM).
From 1911 through 1997, approximately 103,000 miners died at work (Figure 4). During 1911-1915, an average of 3329 mining-related deaths occurred per year among approximately 1 million miners employed annually, with an average annual fatality rate of 329 per 100,000 miners. During the century, the average annual number of workers (operators and contractors combined) in the mining industry has declined to approximately 356,000, and deaths have dropped approximately 37-fold, from 3329 to 89; injury fatality rates have decreased approximately 13-fold, to 25 per 100,000 during 1996-1997.
Historically, the largest number of miners have been killed by collapsing mine roofs and vertical walls, followed by haulage-related incidents. However, methane gas and coal dust explosions have caused the largest number of deaths from "disasters" (i.e., incidents in which five or more deaths occurred); airborne suspension of dry coal dust and natural liberation of methane (present in all coal beds) create an environment susceptible to explosions. From 1911 through 1920, explosions accounted for approximately 84% of all disaster-related deaths. Workplace interventions (e.g., safer equipment and improved ventilation) during the first half of the century led to a dramatic decline in explosion-related fatalities, from an average of 477 per year in 1906-1910 to less than 3 per year in 1991-1995 (Figure 5). All other causes of death associated with underground coal mines (except machinery) declined similarly from the first to the last 20-year interval of this period.
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Very hazardous work indeed; it's their livelihood and I wouldn't want to take away any of their jobs but to me it is just another reason for this country to get its act together. It is imperative for the United States to start investing more into research and development for alternative forms of energy. Hello??? Guys and Dolls DROP THE PORK POLITICS and help take this country forward.
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-------------------- Marty When I was born, I was granted a visitors pass to earth. I will enjoy everyday until it has expired. You should too ;) Posts: 1740 | From: NJ, USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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