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Coal mining accidents can occur in the process of mining coal. Worldwide, it is believed that thousands of miners die from such accidents each year.^{[citation needed]} Mining accidents can have a variety of causes, including leaks of poisonous gases such as hydrogen sulphide^[1] or explosive natural gases especially firedamp or methane,^[2] coal dust dust explosions, collapsing of mine stopes, mining-induced seismicity^[3], flooding, or general mechanical errors from improperly used or malfunctioning mining equipment.^[4]

Contents 1 Accidents by country 1.1 United States 1.2 Canada 1.3 China 1.4 New Zealand 1.5 Poland 1.6 Russia 1.7 United Kingdom 2 Resources 2.1 References 2.2 Related SourceWatch articles

Accidents by country

United States

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), there have been 622 coal mining accidents that resulted in five or more fatalities from 1839 to 2007.^[4]

The Monongah Mining Disaster was the worst mining accident in American history; 362 men and young boys were killed in an underground explosion on December 6, 1907 in Monongah, West Virginia.^[4]

Following a decade in which the number of coal mining fatalities exceeded 2,000 annually, Congress established the Bureau Of Mines in 1910 as a new agency in the Department of the Interior. The Bureau was to investigate accidents, advise industry, conduct production and safety research, and teach courses in accident prevention, first aid, and mine rescue. However, Congress did not empower the federal inspectors to enter and inspect mines until 1941, and did not authorize a code of federal regulations for mine safety until 1947.^[5]

The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Acts of 1969 and 1977 set greater safety standards for the industry. Where annual mining deaths had numbered more than 1,000 a year in the early part of the 20th century, they decreased to an average of about 500 in the late 1950s, and to 93 during the 1990s. In addition to deaths, many thousands more are injured (an average of 21,351 injuries per year between 1991 and 1999).^[6]

In 2006, 72 miners (coal and non-coal) lost their lives at work, 47 in coal mining. The majority of these fatalities occurred in Kentucky and West Virginia, including the Sago Mine Disaster.^[7][8]

Canada

Probably the most famous accidents in Canada are collectively referred to as the Springhill mining disasters. An explosion in 1956 killed 39 miners, and another 74 died in the 1958 "bump," similar to a small earthquake, which shattered the No. 2 colliery of the Cumberland mines.^[9]

China

The worst coal mining disaster in the world took place on April 26, 1942 in Benxihu Colliery, located at Benxi, Liaoning. A coal-dust explosion killed 1,549 miners working that day.^{[citation needed]}

China currently accounts for the largest number of coal-mining fatalities, accounting for about 80% of the world’s total, although it produces only 35% of the world’s coal.^[10] Between January 2001 to October 2004, there were 188 accidents that had a death toll of more than 10, about one death every 7.4 days.^[10] After the 2005 Sunjiawan mine disaster, which killed at least 210 miners, a meeting of the State Council was convened to work on measures to improve work safety in coal mines. The meeting's statement pointed out serious problems such as violation of safety standards and overproduction in some coal mines. Three billion yuan (36 million US dollars) were earmarked for technological renovation on work safety, gas management in particular, at state-owned major coal mines. The government also promised to send safety supervision teams to 45 coal mines with serious gas problems and invite colliery safety experts to evaluate safety situations in coal mines and formulate prevention measures.^[11]

In 2006, according to the State Work Safety Supervision Administration, 4,749 Chinese coal miners were killed in thousands of blasts, floods, and other accidents. For example, a gas explosion at the Nanshan Colliery killed 24 people on November 13, 2006; the mine was operating without any safety license and the Xinhua News Agency claimed the cause was incorrect usage of explosives. However, the 2006 rate was 20.1% less than 2005 despite an 8.1% rise in production.^[12]

New Zealand

The most notable mining accident in New Zealand is the 1896 Brunner Mine disaster. 65 miners died in the disaster, almost half of the Brunner underground work force. It is believed that fire damp -- a miners' name for a gas of mostly methane which forms as decaying plant matter turns into coal and becomes explosive when mixed with air -- had accumulated and not been cleared properly by the ventilation system, and a series of explosions had been the result.^[13]

Poland

Several major mining accidents happened in Poland^[14], a recent one being a methane explosion in Ruda Soska, which killed 12 miners and left dozens injured in September 2009.^[15]

Russia

Several major mining accidents happened in Russia, particularly the 2007 Ulyanovskaya Mine disaster where a methane gas explosion killed 107 people.^[16]

United Kingdom

Some of the largest and worst mining accidents occurred in Wales. Over the period 1850 to 1930 the South Wales coalfield had the worst disaster record. This was due to the increasing number of mines being sunk to greater depths into gas-containing strata, combined with poor safety and management practices. As a result there were nearly forty underground explosions in the Glamorgan and Monmouthshire areas of the coalfield during this time. Each accident resulted in the deaths of twenty or more men and boys - either directly during the explosion or by suffocation in the poisonous gases formed. The total death toll from these disasters was 3,119.^[17][18]

The four worst accidents were:^[17][18]

• 439 deaths at the Senghenydd Colliery Disaster at Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, Glamorgan in a gas explosion in 1913
• 290 deaths at the Albion Colliery in Cilfynydd, Glamorgan in a gas explosion on 25 June 1894
• 266 lives lost in the Gresford Disaster near Wrexham in North Wales on 22 September 1934
• 259 deaths at the Prince of Wales Mine, Abercarn, Monmouthshire in an explosion on 11 September 1878.

Some collieries e.g. Morfa Colliery, near Port Talbot, Glamorgan, and Black Vein Colliery, Risca, Monmouthshire suffered three disasters before it was decided to close them for being unsafe.^[17][18]

In England, the Oaks explosion remains the worst mining accident, claiming 388 lives on 12 December 1866 near Barnsley in Yorkshire.^[17][18]

The Hulton Colliery explosion, Westhoughton, Lancashire in 1910, claimed the lives of 344 ^[19].

An explosion in 1878, at the Wood Pit, Haydock, Lancashire, killed over 200 men and boys, however, only 189 were included in the 'official list'.^[20]

In the metalliferous mines of Cornwall, some of the worst accidents were at East Wheal Rose in 1846, where 39 men were killed by a sudden flood; at Levant mine in 1919, where 31 were killed and many injured in a failure of the man engine;^[21] 12 killed at Wheal Agar in 1883 when a cage fell down a shaft;^[22] and seven killed at Dolcoath mine in 1893 when a large stoping collapsed.^[23]

The worst mining accident in Scotland is the Blantyre mining disaster in Blantyre, Lanarkshire which claimed 207 lives in 1877 due to an explosion from the presence of dangerous fire-damp and improper implementation of regulations. Many were just young boys, the youngest being eleven years old. Another disaster followed in 1879, when a further twenty-eight miners were killed.^[24]

Resources

References

Related SourceWatch articles

Monongah Mining Disaster Wikipedia also has an article on Coal mining accidents. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.