One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research

Figure 30. The results of conventional timbering at the Isabella Mine, Isabella, PA, in 1949.
3.7 The Federal Coal Mine Safety Act of 1952
On the evening of December 21, 1951, just before the mine was to close for the Christmas
holiday, an underground explosion killed 119 miners during the second shift at the Orient No. 2
coal mine in West Frankfort, IL. The West Frankfort mine disaster was the worst of its kind
since 1940 (see Figure 31).
Figure 31. John L. Lewis, President of the United Mine Workers
of America, at West Frankfort disaster site, 1951.
The 119 miners killed in the West Frankfort explosion left 111 widows and 176 children. The
disaster drew national attention and resulted in the passage of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act
of 1952.
The 1952 Act authorized the Bureau to enforce specific requirements aimed at the prevention of
mine disasters and provided for annual inspections in certain underground coal mines. It also
gave the Bureau limited enforcement authority, including power to issue violation notices and
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