One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research

2.6 Expansion of the USBM Mission
By 1912, the USBM recognized that most fatalities in coal mine explosions were caused by the
release of toxic mine gases rather than the explosions themselves. In emergencies, some rescued
miners had successfully barricaded themselves in isolated areas of the mine where the air was
breathable, and thus were not affected by the gases. In response, the Bureau’s second annual
report [USBM 1912] described refuge chambers that might be built in mines for use by miners
after an explosion. The chambers would be simple in construction and contain food, water, and
first aid materials. Several Bureau engineers advocated that they be made available in all coal
mines. The report also introduced the possibility of providing a protected telephone for
communication and boreholes to the chambers in mines closest to the surface.
The largest cause of fatalities in coal mines in 1912 was falls of roof and coal, with roof falls also
identified as the greatest safety hazard in metal mines. The Bureau noted that the mining
systems in use may have been key to the problem, as mines in Europe appeared to have lower
fatality rates. At the time, U.S. mines used less timber for roof support and suffered from a less
safe use of explosives [USBM 1912].
A new Organic Act for the Bureau was passed by Congress and signed by President Taft on
February 25, 1913. This new act broadened the scope and more clearly defined the mission of
the Bureau, charging it as follows:
. . . to conduct inquiries and scientific and technologic investigations concerning mining,
and the preparation, treatment, and utilization of mineral substances with a view to
improving health conditions, and increasing safety, efficiency, economic development,
and conserving resources through prevention of waste in the mining, quarrying,
metallurgical, and other mineral industries [USBM 1913].
The Bureau’s purpose was described concisely at the beginning of the fourth annual report: to
conduct research to “lead to increased safety, efficiency, and economy in the mining industry of
the United States” [USBM 1914]. Congress required that the Bureau should not conduct
investigations on behalf of private parties nor promote individual business enterprises. The
Bureau policy was to be nonpartisan, favoring neither the miner nor the mine operator. Its
function was to stand for the welfare of all workers in the mining industry, the industry itself,
and the public.
The Bureau’s fourth annual report [USBM 1914] also stated the general policy under which the
Bureau operated relative to other mining stakeholders:
1. that the National Government conduct the necessary general inquiries and investigations
in relation to mining industries and disseminate in such manner as may prove most
effective the information obtained and the conclusions reached;
2. that each State enact needed legislation and make ample provision for the proper
inspection of mining operations within its borders;
15