Reasonable Nuts

Sometimes nuts. Always reasonable. We are REASONABLE NUTS.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Mine safety

I read this morning that 2 coal miners were unaccounted for after a conveyor belt fire yesterday. This is of course reminding all of the tragedy of losing 12 miners in an explosion and collapse just recently. And it made me question how often such accidents happen today and what was the worst such accident.

The answer to the first question is over the last 10 years, approximately 30-40 deaths occur each year at U.S. coal mines. Note that most of these do not occur from mine explosions, but from singular incidents, such as roof collapses.

The answer to the second question is the explosion of mines #6 and #8 of the Fairmont Coal Co. in Monongah, WV, December 6, 1907, killing 362 men and boys. This mining complex was considered at the time to be a model mine, insofar as safety and technology.

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