One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research

7. Conclusion: Lessons Learned
The need to transfer research results to potential users has been clear since the establishment of
the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1910. Dr. Joseph A. Holmes placed initial emphasis on safety
training for miners by the new Bureau. He used the mine rescue railroad cars to provide safety
training to miners at the mine sites. The Bureau participated in exhibitions of mine safety
technology, going back to the demonstration attended by President Taft in Pittsburgh in October
1911. Today, the Bureau continues to exhibit mine safety technology, frequently by way of trade
shows, conferences, and professional society meetings (see Figure 42). The concept was called
technology transfer by the Bureau in the 1970s, and is now called research to practice (r2p) by
NIOSH, but the critical need to transfer new technology into use at the workplace has always
been clear.
Figure 42. NIOSH Exhibit at the Society for Mining, Metallurgy,
and Exploration Annual Meeting, Denver, 2009.
Mining research has been most effective when it has been done in cooperation with the ultimate
users of the research. Successful transfer of research results requires close cooperation of
researchers with staff at operating mines and field testing of new technology in those mines.
Some mining companies have shown great initiative through the years in developing and testing
new mining technologies to improve safety and health. A few companies have engaged in their
own research activities, while others have been willing to work with the Bureau and NIOSH in
allowing the use of their mines for developing and evaluating new technologies. This has often
been done at a cost to the companies either directly, or through some loss in production. The
work of the federal government in mining safety and health research has been very dependent on
the cooperation of these mining companies and the people operating the mines, both in labor and
management.
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