One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research

One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research
1. Introduction
John A. Breslin, Ph.D.
Physical Scientist
Office of Mine Safety and Health Research, NIOSH
This publication provides an historical overview of research undertaken by the U.S. federal
government over the last 100 years to improve the health and safety of our nation’s miners.
Federal research efforts began with the establishment of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM, or
the Bureau) in 1910. They have continued over the past century, even after the Bureau’s closure
in 1996. It is hoped that this publication will give the reader an appreciation for the work of
mining health and safety researchers over the past century, and of the miners served by this
research.
Although not a comprehensive history, this report highlights the key organizational changes
made within the Bureau and the federal government that affected mining safety and health
research. Some mention is also made of Bureau research not directly related to mining health
and safety. Note that the work classified as safety and health research has varied over the last
century. For example, before 1970 the Bureau separated mining research and safety and health
research. At that time, mining research included ground control and methane drainage because
they had direct implications for mine safety. Explosives research was also reported separately
from health and safety, even though permissible explosives research was obviously related to
safety. Therefore, where budget figures from the Bureau are mentioned in this report, it is often
not possible to separate safety and health research from other types of research.
This history is generally chronological, with a few exceptions. Because of their prominence and
direct links to Bureau research, most of the Public Health Service mining studies completed
before 1970, when NIOSH was established, will be discussed in a single section, even though the
work spanned many decades. Likewise, for convenience, the brief histories of the Bureau’s
mining research centers are located in one section.
2. The Beginning: 1910-1925
2.1 Early Legislation
In 1865, Senator William Morris Stewart of Nevada introduced the first bill to establish a federal
mining bureau. Congress introduced further bills during the 1800s, mostly initiated by members
of Congress from western states that mined precious metals. Eastern states seemed to have less
interest in a mining bureau, but some interest in establishing mining schools and experiment
stations similar to those which the federal government had fostered for agriculture [USBM
1925]. At its first annual convention in 1896, the American Mining Congress proposed the
establishment of a National Department of Mines in the President’s cabinet [Powell 1922].
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