One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research

5. Expansion and Change: 1969-1996
5.1 The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969
On November 20, 1968, an explosion occurred at Consolidation Coal Co.’s No. 9 mine near
Farmington, WV, resulting in the deaths of 78 miners (see Figure 32). At around the same time,
medical studies were verifying that pneumoconiosis, the progressive respiratory disease caused
by the inhalation of fine coal dust, was also a serious problem in coal miners. Pennsylvania had
already adopted legislation to compensate coal miners with evidence of pneumoconiosis, but in
some states coal workers’ pneumoconiosis was not recognized as a compensable disease.
Figure 32. Smoke from the Farmington Mine disaster, Farmington, WV, 1968.
The Farmington disaster combined with the publicity about the prevalence of what miners came
to know as “black lung” disease led to passage by Congress of the Federal Coal Mine Health and
Safety Act of 1969 (1969 Coal Act). The 1969 Coal Act was more comprehensive and more
stringent than any previous federal legislation governing the mining industry. The Act included
surface as well as underground coal mines, required two annual inspections of every surface coal
mine and four at every underground coal mine, and dramatically increased federal enforcement
powers in coal mines. Safety standards for all coal mines were strengthened, and health
standards were adopted for the first time. The Act included specific procedures for the
development of improved mandatory health and safety standards, and provided compensation for
miners who were totally and permanently disabled by “black lung.”
The 1969 Coal Act was signed by President Nixon on December 30, 1969, and became law
(Public Law 91-173). The new law provided for the assessment of civil and criminal penalties
for violations of standards set under the Act. In 1970, there were about 2,400 active
underground coal mines active in 22 states, and in March 1970 the Bureau had 327 mine
inspectors, including 57 trainees. In response to the Act, by the end of the year the inspection
force had increased to 564 persons, including 156 trainees. By mid-1971 the inspection force
had increased to 1,000. Thus, the 1969 Coal Act caused the Bureau to triple its coal mine
inspection force in just over a year. The Act also authorized the establishment of the Mining
Health and Safety Academy at Beckley, WV, for the training of mine inspectors [CRS 1976].
39