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Show THE Page Eight O Coal (Continued From Page One) 1.22 in 1949, and 1.15 in 1950. and lignite (In bituminous mines, the average number of fain talities per million man-houthe nine years prior to federal inspection was 145, while in the first nine calendar yeais of operation the average rate was 1.19, a reduction of 18 per cent in the avetage fatality rate ) (In anthracite mining, this rate (il in the years declined from rs 1 to 1 1933-194- 1 13 in 1942-195- 0, basis which nn a peicentage means a l eduction of 30 per cent in the average fatality rate.) Al hough cierht for the fav-able results attained during the 10 sears cannot tie ascribed solely to any particular gioup or agency, Secietary Chapman said, it is well known that passage of the Act itself and activities under this Act have been and continue to be a great influence in improving health and safety conditions and piactices in coal mines." The joint etfuts of management, labor, state inspection agencies, manufacture! s of mining equipment, coal opiratois associations, the Bureau of Mines, and other agencies responsible for the keen interest in mine safety in the past decade were commanded by the secietary. There are 250 federal coal mine eninspeitors, mining-elcctricenmining-explosiand gineers, inmine novV in engaged gineer, spections and investigations for the Bureau of Mines throughout the coal mining areas of the United States. oi al ve In reporting to Secietary that plan show Mine Safety Chap- man on the bureaus work in this field in the past 10 years, bureau director, James Boyd called special attention to the many major improvements made in coal mines during this period. For instance, bureau records a systematic was adopted roof-suppo- in atives of labor and management in ago, ventilation, and control of at- - delegates no enforcement powers age of 19 unsafe conditions and the industry. It was the yardstick moqihenc dusts are being made ' to the bureau, it does authorize practices for every one of the rt 1,806 Direc- 8,-9- 71 mines. This is important, tor Boyd said, because over half of the fatalities in coal mines are caused by falling rock and coal. of Other major improvements record include: tLe of dangerous black powder discontinued m 1,037 mines. New main ventilating fans installed in 2,010 mines. Auxiliary blower fans with tubing removed from 473 mines. Such fans aie considered hazardous when operated under ceitain condition. Pieshift examinations for gs and other hazards woie started ,n 2,147 mines Onshift examinations for gas were started in 1,688 mines. The use of water to allay coal Just was started in 867 mines. A total of 1,407 mines were for the first time Piwdeied rock dust spiayed on roof and walls of coal mines the explosibility of fine coal dust and piovents gas explosions oi ignitions from spreading throughout the mine. Second openings were provided in C60 mines These additional (j)enings serve as eseapeways for nun ami as air courses. Smoking was discontinued in 1,186 mines The use of open lights was discontinued in 1,049 mines. Duties of the federal coal nunc inspectors aie entirely investigative and recommendatory, Director Boyd pointed out, and the Bureau of Mines has no enfoi cement authority Objectives aie sought through research and invest gallon of hazaids, testing and of equipment, training officials and woikeis in accident prevention, mine rescue, and first aid, and periodic inspections The Bureau of Mines has made many contributions to the geneial improvement in coal mine safety, Director Boyd said, but he listed the following as outstanding: 1. A total of 41,986 al regular inspections of coal mines have been made since Public Law 49 became effective in 1941. There are about 8,400 active coal mines in the United States, of which some 2,500 employ more than 25 men and produce the bulk of the coal. Of the total number of inspections, 8,971 were made during the fiscal year ended June 30, rock-dust- the New Famous DRY CHEMICAL Fire Extinguisher 2.50 QUART SIZE REDD Motor Company 129 W. Main Price ''KllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllP ! 12,-2- es 1951. 2. The development of the Federal Mine Safety Code and Anthracite Safety Standards, which have generally been accepted by labor and management in contractual relationships and in actual practice in the mines, took place in this era. Promulgated by the director of the bureau on July 29, 1946, the safety code was issued after consultation with represent used by federal inspectors in in. specting coal mines in government possession for a short period ending June 30, 1947, and the code since has been adopted in contrac-turrelations. The safety stand, ards for anthracite mines also weie prepared by Bureau of Minos experts and are used by federal inspectors for judg.ng conditions and practices in anthracite mines of Pennsylvania. 3 A revised Coal Mine Accident Pievention course for supervisors was introduced in the coal mining industiy in Maich, 1918, and since that date a total of supervisor have completed the turning conducted by bureau mining engineers 4. For miners, a revised Coal Mine Accident Pievention Course was introduced by the bureau in January, 1947, and a total of 34,-8mine workers have finished the training conducted by federal coal mine inspectors assigned temporarily to educational woik 5. of the The introduction bolting method of roof control in coal mining by the Buieau of Mines m 1948 is considered a major contribution toward the future reduction of accidents from falls of rock and coal which chum many lives annually By drilling long holes in the mine i oof and instating steel bolts, the layers of loof and rotk aie bound together and become ting. When installed carefully and in accordance with bureau stand-aid- s, this method eliminates the need for timbering in many mines. The bureau set up a roof control section, introduced engineets, and sent them out to advise and counsel the industry in establishing the new method of roof control. In the short space of about three years, bureau records reveal that roof bolts were being used to supplant or supplement conventional timbering in 494 coal mines where they were supporting about 150 million square feet of roof. Also, roof bolts were being used in 54 non-co- al mines to support 25 million square feet of roof. A new industry was born the manufacture of bolts, wedges, nuts and installation equipment and a survey at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 1951, showed that roof bolts were being manufactured in the United States at the rate of 2,000,000 a month. Federal coal mine inspectors who have been trained in mine roof control and roof bolting are in constant demand by mine operators to determine if roof bolting is practical for their mines and to recommend a plan. 6. Special studies covering roof control, explosives, fires, explosions, mining, electricity, haul- al ed fed-ei- We Are Now Handling! Thursday, August 16, 1951 SUN-ADVOCA- srff-sup-p- oi I Director Boyd mines inspected. Furthermore, ever attained, continuously by the Bureau of the publication and dissemination Mines in its laboratories and ex- pf the results of the inspections 49 per cent of the inspection re- concluded, and it can and must periment stations as a part of the and investigations on the theory ports transmitted during the year be improved by constant prodprogiam authorized by the 1941 that the force of public opinion indicated dangers of a serious na- ding, proper training, effective cocoal mine inspection and investiand determined would operate to bring about im- ture that were not corrected. Only planning, The cooperaIn accord- 27 per cent of all dangers reported operative efforts. gation statute. The results ft proved conditions. are made ance with this provision, the Bu- by federal coal mine inspectors tion of management and labor these investigations available immediately to the in- reau of Mines for the past nine were corrected during the year. in furthering coal mine safety has dustiy, where they are used to years has prepared abstracts or This is evidence that more incen- been gratifying, Dr. Boyd added. minimize further the hazards of summaries of the federal inspec- tives, more safety training, addiThe bureau is now preparing a underground mining and protect tion reports and made them avail- tional technological advances, and detailed summary of the coal lives and projerty. able to newspapers and interesi- - other measures are needed to re- mine inspection program, which 7 A thorough will be published in the fall. investigation ed parties. Distribution of these duce coal mine accidents. and icpoit on each fatality occur summaries is restricted to publi ring in coal mines is made by the cations and groups in the county Buieau of Mines with a complete or district where the mine is iniccoiint of the accident and rec- spected. The consensus of opinBIG HELPERS ommendations for avoiding this ion is that publication of the f icts and futuie accidents given in the has encouraged safety progress in These reports are also coil mining. Up until late 1949 leport. made available to the industry, and early 1950, these .summaries US! and the information obtained is were written and distributed from summarized annually with the Washington, but the work has Every day is mothers day, if she hope that it will be helpful in now been transferred to the van-ohas our laundry relieve her of her pieventing similar accidents in regional and district offices coal mines. of the bureau. washing. ..It gives her more time 8 Another forward step in coal 12. The number of major coal for shopping, for care of the house, was mine disasters has been reduced mine accident prevention more time to devote to the chiltaken by the Bureau of Mines substantially in the past few econdren. Its a labor-savinearly in 1951 with the establish- years. In 194,3 there were six mothers. modern for service omical ment of a Coal Mine Haulage major disasters in which 49 minCall Price 218 for details today! Safety Training course and its ers lost their lives. There were to introduction the industry. none in 1949, none in 1950, and PRICE STEAM LAUNDRY Haulage operations aie tesponsi-bl- e only two claiming 16 lives in the for the second largest number fust six months of 1951. Had it of deaths in coal mines, running not been for the disastrous Cen-tial- ia PICK UP & DELIVERY PHONE 218 next to falls of rock and coal. In explosion in 1947 claiming three months this year, 8.538 111 lives, the lecord for that year haulage employees and others would have been better than precompleted the training conducted vious yeais. In 1916 there were by federal inspectors and this onlv two major disasters taking work will be expanded in the 27 lives. There were no major disasters from November, 1948, to yeais to come. 9 Another impoitant training January, 1951 the longest period com sp, known as the Roof-Fa- ll in the ever to be disaster-fre- e Accident Prevention Training history of coal mining. The buProgram, has been drawn up by reau defines a major disaster as the bureau and will be introducone in which five or more persons ed in the industry this year. The, die. course is designed to impress upon Despite all these influences mine officials and workmen the and the improvement in condineed for more adequate control tions and practices, far too many measures and to encourage roof men are being killed and injured consciousness. in coal mines of the United 10. Thousands of miners and States, Director Boyd observed. have been trained While it is true that our coal supervisors in the bureaus standard courses mines are in better condition from of first aid, mine rescue and re- the standpoint of health and safcovery operations, and accident ety than at any other time in hispievention during the past 10 tory, much remains to be done beyears. This work has been car- fore the conditions in many mines ried on by the bureau since its can be considered to be even faircreation in 1910 and it was step- ly satisfactory. ped up with the advent of coal For example, in the fiscal year mine inspection in 1941. ended June 30, 1951, Federal coal 11. Although the 1941 Act mine inspectors reported an aver- - MOTHERS THAIS us g, Carbon Theater LANA TURNER, GENE ROBERT MILLION Inspection Here SATURDAY, STILLMAN m t August 17 and KELLY Lr JUNE ANYSON nan Gene out of die ss Thru kmc Storm by JOHN Hmy Hmomf kmi Art DOROTHY PARKER fcrwom bra SffW AOTMI UMM MONDAY, TUESDAY AUGUST KSUR. ILUASU TMU UMTtfi MTiffl minnu World's Wondor Hors MONDAY, WEDNESDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 nS fOU ramccuR .F!ED sd NOOUCt rnimsms Dlf'FD CHAMPION SUNDAY, BALDWIN ASHWORTH RIDERS OF World's Croat it Cowboy PURSUIT FAITH row stium to smash outlaw lumbor ring! Gene AUTRY,"-- PLUS DOLLAR o. AND tkies... 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