Document M4Kxb1pxNVoJmK4xRDjxx1vDL

278 Twenty-first Cuni/rcss--National Safety Council Statistics Committee Report Although employment in the mining industry was reduced -28 jicr cent over the (ircviou* year. companies r8j*.niiiK to the National Safely Council represented 34.OdO.ttUO nuui-liMin> during 1931. Accident frequency at these plants was reduced over * j*it cent and accident severity 8 |kt cent during the year. Figures of larger >o>ie. now available ior ccrtahi branches of mining since the early returns were ftxniisln-d to the Council, show that amliracitc mines reduced their accident frequence 2 per cem in 1931 over the previous years, bituminous coal nimei lowered their frequency rate 12 \*rr cent, metal mines 20 ier cent, n<m-metallic mineral mines 10 jkt cent, and mills and smelters 27 |Krr cent. Thr immlnx of accidents and the numlier of man-hours worked have greatly de clined in rcocm years at Is'itli metal mines and coal mines. Some ut this decline was iloulnlfss the result of jkkjt markets, but much of it represents increased elficicncy <fur to inijirmyd *qieratinc metht*ds, Metal mines have succeeded in reducing acci dents at a more rapi<l pace than tlte decline in man-hours, and the resuh lias lccn a gratifying reducthm in accident frequency jk.t million man-hours of exposure. Gal mining. the other liand. while also marked by fewer accidems. at least fatal accidents, and fewer man-lwmrs of exposure. has not reduced accidents quite as fast as man-hours, hence the accident frequency rate for coal mines over a term of years lias shown a mild upward trend. Nevertheless, the rate last year seems to have gone down, and tliere are indications that the rate for 1932 is also declining: which mav indicate that the tidr has turned and that the coal industry, as well as the metal industry, will reduce its accidems to an extent equal to or grater than it lowers tltc numltcr of man-lumr* required to mine a given quantity if coal. The report of the Purler Gmimiuec. jircscntcd by J. j. Forties. V. 5. Bureau of Mines. Pmslmrqh. Pennsylvania. chairman, showed that during the year over 350 safety jKister* liad lieen issued hv the National Safety Cotnial suitable for use by ntnnl*TS of tle Mining Section. Report of the Secretary Tltc report of the Secretary. 1). Harringum. L\ S. Bureau f Mities. Washington. I>. C- revealed that "1931 has established a record of low rates of accident occurrence iu Imth cal and metal mining." Approximately 1430 persons were killed in coal mines iti the United States in 1931 against an average of 2409 araioallv for the previous 25 years. Tlte 1931 fatality rate of about 227 persons killed j>er million nats if cal mined is the lowest rate achieved in any year of the present century; and for tlte first eipln m*ntli5 of 1932. the rate was lower than for the similar period of 1931. Explosions caused only 86 fatalities as compared with 264 in 1930. and as compared with an average oi 341 annually from 1922 to 1930 inclusive. Fr<nn January 28. 1931. to Xovemlicr 3. 1931. or over nine months, the hhurmtirms mines of tlte United States did not haw a major cxplositm disaster tone in which five or more Jives were lost 1. While numerous factors contributed to this Jong period of avoidance *f majr cxpli*i<ms. at least three 'major disasters unquestionably were jrcwmcd bv r<ck dusting. In 1931 Alaska. Michigan and Texas Itad no faulities in coal mines and every other coal producing stale except Indiana. Montana, North Dakou and Maryland had fewer c*al mine fatalities in 1931 than in 1930. Alaliama. Xew Mexico. Ohio. Okla homa. Utah and Washington all reduced coal mine fatalities 50 per cent or more in 1931 as compared with 1930 and usually the dominant factor in this reduction was the avoidance of mine expbisions. For the first eight months of 1932 tltf fatality rate is but 3.126 deaths per million tons *f eal mined, which is a definite. impTm-cment on the rate of 3.384 for the first eight nttmxhs of 1931. rr the 527 rate iV the cinirc year 1931. The anthracite mining industry also is showing definite progress in safety in 1932. with but 148 deaths for Minivff Section 279 the first eight months, as against 265 in the first eight tunih> oi 19J1: the 1932 rate in anthracite mining up to September 1. 1932. being 4.829 and tliat oi the first eight months of 1931 hating been 6.657. During the jiast year many remarkable safety jierfurmanccs in mining lave liecn achieved. In metal mining the Miami Gipper Company worked more than 30 mouths tir more than 30.173.000 man hours aud produced nearly 13300.000 urns of ore irom underground workings without a fatal accident. Tlte Utah Copjer Company ojicratcd its oj>en cut mine for a three-vear jwriod without a fatality and moved more thau 75.000,000 tons of rock and ore. tlte man-hours of cxjxisurc being almost 11.000.000. Coal mining companies. 1<k. recently have achieved safety records almost unlielicvablv g*>od: at least five iairly large producing c<al mines have been aide to operate a year or more without a single bsi-timc accident, these luring the Dehue mhu\ The Youngstowu Mines CorjK/ratiun. Dehue. West Virginia: the Drier Hill mine. Tltc Ruckcye Coal Company. Brier Hill. Pennsylvania: Tltc No. I tunic. Phelps Ibnlgc Ctirjwration. Dawson. Xew Mexico: the Alloy mine. Electro Metallurgical Company. Alloy. West Virginia: and the lmlwdcn miue. Stonega Coke & Coal Company. Imlioden. Virginia. The cement industry continues its excellent safety performances and now at least eight cement plants have joined the thousand-day club. having not had a lost-time accident m 1000 or more days. Tlte lola. Kansas, plant of the Lehigh Ptirtland Cement Company has worked for six years without a lost time accident and in that i>cri*d had nearly 2300.000 man-hours of exposure and handled practically 1350.000 Puis of cement rock: and the Sandts Eddy quarry of the Lehigh Portland Cement Cnmpany. with an average of 33 employees, lias not had a lost-time accident from February 17. 1926, to at last September 1st, 1932. tlte exposure l>ng practically 666,000 man-hours during which over 2300.000 tons of rock were produced. Another rcmarkalde safety performance is that of tltc underground mine of the Alpha Port land Cement Company, Ironton, Ohio, which has not had a lost-time accident since Septcmlicr 21st. 1926--over six years. During the period its employees have worked 999 days with a total of 569848 man-hours of exposure. Fifty-four new chapters of the Holmes Safety Association were cstahlislwd last year, bringing the total number of actively functioning chapters now to over 150. with a membership about 50.000. Dozens of instances are at hand in which actual figures have been furnished indicating that after Holmes Chapters have been installed and kept in active working order, accident occurrence has been reduced materially. Chairman Comins. at this point, introduced George 0|p. Safety Engmevr, The Detroit Edison Company, Detroit, who made an inspirational address, stressing the finer points, or what might be termed the altruistic phases, of accident prevention work. Mr. Opp spoke extemporaneously, and no record is extant. Some Data on Lighting in Underground Mines By C. W. OWINGS Associate Mining Engineer, U. S. Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh Experiment Station. Pittsburgh, Pa. Lighting is oi paramount importance in reducing accidents and in increasing safety underground. Light, by definition, is an essential condition of vision: it is that form of energy that produces vision. Light attd life, both !taring T as the first letter, are. jierliaps. significant of the necessity oi light in order that man may live. In opposition to this thought, two words starting with the letter "d," darkness Published by temu-^ii of the Director. t\ S. bureau *4 Mines. (Nut subject in copyright.)