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SOURCES OF HELP FOR THE SAFETY MAN Bureau's first director), the National Safe ty Competition, and the biennial National First-Aid and Mine Rescue Contests. Testing of Equipment, Research, frequent ly conducted in cooperation with industry, also has provided the basis for many of the rigorous tests developed and given by the bureau to equipment and accessories de signed for use m mining and related fields Bureau standards are used in evaluating the permissibility for underground use of items ranging from respiratory protective devices to continuous-mining machines and dieselpowered mining equipment Bureau testing is done at the request of equipment manu facturers, who pay standard fees for the service and are permitted to display the bureau seal of approval on models demon strated to be safe for use in mines Coal Mine Inspection Since 1941, the Bureau has been charged with responsibili ty for periodic inspection of the more than 9,000 coal mines operating in the United States Until 1952, compliance with the rec ommendations of Bureau inspectors was en tirely voluntary, but in that year enactment of the Federal Coal Mme Safety Act au thorized and directed bureau enforcement of certain mandatory provisions designed to help guard against major disasters in coal mines employing more than 14 men under ground The bureau has enforcement pow ers but prefers that improvements in safety be achieved through voluntary compliance with the recommendations of inspectors, as this is considered more substantial and more lasting DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 14lh St and Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20310 The U S Department of Labor, set up to promote the welfare of the wage earner, has jurisdiction over a number of agencies that produce vital safety information Some of the department's programs of interest to the safety man are described m the follow ing paragraphs The BUREAU OP LABOR STANDARDS of the Department of Labor promotes industrial safety by giving technical help to state labor officials on accident prevention programs, drafting safety and health codes, and pro viding training courses for state safety in spectors and Federal employees with super visory responsibility for safety The bureau administers the safety and health provisions covered by Section 41 of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act It maintains 5 regional offices and 17 field offices m various cities throughout the coun try. The bureau is the secretariat to the Federal Safety Council end it works with other government agenues, the states, in dustry, and labor on legislation and admin istrative practices involving labor The work with the states also covers wages and hours of work, industrial inspection, child labor, and other factors that affect the worker Typical publications available through this agency are Safety to Industry Bulletins, (a senes of bul letins covering vanous aspects of safety) Principles and Techniques of Mechanical Guarding Occupational Health Hazards--Their Evalua tion and Control Safety and Health Regulations for Longshonng Safety and Health Regulations for Ship Repairing A listing of all safety publications is available. The BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS Collects facts on a wide variety of subjects relating to the labor force and publishes them in general bulletins and in the Monthly Labor Review The Review furnishes general in formation on labor relations and living con ditions in the United States and abroad Regular statistical activities of the BLS cover the following broad subject areas Work injuries and accidents Manpower and employment, including occu pational outlook Productivity and technological developments Pnces and living condibons Wages and industrial relations Foreign labor The bureau is authorized to make statis tical studies on request of private persons or groups who in turn pay the costs The following publications are typical of the work-injury information available Work Injuries tn the V S , issued annually Work-Injury Rates by Industry, issued annually Work Injury Frequency Rates for Manufac turing Industries, issued quarterly