1900 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

114 REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF MINES. Off. Doc.
number were hurt by standing in dangerous positions to block a
car or to pull a block from before the wheel of a car. Some were
hurt by turning to a narrow side to let a trip of cars pass and
were crushed between cars and side of gangways. Drivers, runners
and door-tenders were hurt by falling off when riding between or
on the front end of cars, by falling under when running along
side and by being crushed between when coupling or uncoupling
cars while they were in motion.
To prevent this class of accidents it is obviously needed that men
and boys who are employed in moving mine cars should take care
of themselves. Those in charge of young boys should caution them
and try to stop their recklessness. A strict discipline would perhaps
prevent a number of all classes of mine accidents .
Accidents by Explosions of Powder and Blasts.
Five fatal and 20 non-fatal occurred from this cause during the
year 1900. The largest number of these occur because the miner
cuts the match shorter than it is made by the squib manufacturer.
By untwisting the match to cut it, the powder falls back into the
match from the squib, and when the match is ignited, the blasts
explode before the miner can get out of the way. Sometimes a
blast is fired sooner than expected owing to the issuance of gas
from the hole, but these are very few.
Firing two holes together is very dangerous when it is done by
squibs, and it should never be practiced. It is rare that an accident
occurs from blasts, that cannot be justly attributed to some
kind of carelessness on the part of the man who fires the blast.
There is ready means always at hand for testing whether or not
a feeder of gas is issuing, and the necessary precaution should never
be neglected, and the squibs or matches should never be tampered
with.
Accidents from Miscellaneous Causes Inside and on Surface at Mines.
It
has been stated many times in the Mine Inspector's reports of
past years that nearly all the victims of mine accidents have contributed
more or less to their cause. There is no more than about
one-fourth that occur where it can be truthfully stated that the
sufferer was blameless.
Three were killed last year and one injured by falling down
shafts. One stepped off the cage on wrong side and back into the
shaft at night. Another had stepped off the bucket to a bunton and
fell off, while the other fell down the shaft from an ascending cage.