IC 6710 Explosions in Pennsylvania Coal Mines 1870-1932

"In accident prevention, a study of statistical data is necessary to determine primary causes of accidents to devise means to eliminate causes at the original sources. Explosions in coal mines of the United States during the 10 years ending December 31, 1931, ranked third in the causes of fatal accidents; they constituted 16.2 per cent of all fatal accidents in bituminous mines and 8.4 per cent of all fatal accidents in anthracite mines. A study of coal-mine explosions in Pennsylvania, with approximately 160,000 men employed in anthracite mines and about 145,000 in bituminous mines or about 205,000 out of -the approximately 525,000 men employed in all coal mines of the United States, should give information of value to all persons endeavoring to reduce or eliminate coal-mine explosions. This circular reviews explosions of gas or dust or of both in the coal mines of Pennsylvania to show the hazard of gas and dust, to point out the influence of certain factors in causing explosions, and to emphasize the efficacy of explosion-preventive measures.The data published annually by the State Department of Mines and of the United States Bureau of Mines were used in compiling the tables of explosions. Through the cooperation of W. H. Glasgow, secretary, Department of Mines of Pennsylvania, and his assistants, many doubtful cases were clarified, so that as far as recorded the history is comparatively complete. Figures used in compiling some of the tables were furnished by W. W. Adams, chief statistician, demographical division, United States Bureau of Mines.Anthracite in the Wyoming Basin of Pennsylvania was used locally by gunsmiths in 1755, by blacksmiths in 1769, and as domestic fuel in 1808.Mining and shipments developed slowly between 1806 and 1812, but more rapidly after that.Early mining along the outcrops gave essentially no trouble from gas, but by 1870, when State inspection was established, explosions were frequent; ventilation was crude and accumulations of gas were generally ""brushed"" or burned out.Table 1 lists 1,232 ignitions and explosions of gas in anthracite mines from 1870 to 1932, inclusive, every one of which was accompanied by loss of life. Some details are given of 110 representative cases in which five or more lives were lost or in which it appeared that some violence was present.During the period 1870 to 1932, inclusive, gas explosions caused 2,213 fatalities, or an average of about two deaths for each ignition or explosion. Records are not available as to the number injured in these and in other explosions where no deaths occurred, but from a study of explosion reports it appears probable that the number injured exceeds the number killed. In the 110 cases described, 599 were killed and 294 were injured. As shown in Table 2, fatalities from gas explosions averaged 8.3 percent of the total fatalities in Pennsylvania anthracite mines from 1870 to 1931, varying from 6.0 percent in 1931 to 13.1 percent in 1927."