Modern Mining Methods Keep Coal Miners Safe

By Coal Memorial Committee for Hometown magazine

Coal mining is a dangerous occupation.

Pennsylvania was one of the first states to have a mine safety law. The 1869 law applied to Schuylkill County and coal mines was passed in 1891. This federal legislation established minimum ventilation requirements in underground coal mines and prohibited operators from hiring children under age 12. required mines to: be properly ventilated, employ a mine boss to perform a safety inspection each morning before workers entered, have a communication system between the mine and the surface, and prohibit workers from riding to the surface in loaded cars. These basics of mine safety were enforced by inspectors who were required to visit at reasonable times to inspect the mines. These safety efforts were carried forward to the bituminous mines in Western Pennsylvania by miners who fought and even went on strike in order to gain them.

The first United States legislation governing safety standards and inspections for

The arrival of railroads and the opening of industrial underground coal mines in the Punxsutawney area was hailed as an economic advancement. However, this economic advancement had a dark side: the many deaths of workers in the mines caused by asphyxiation from gases, explosions, runaway cars, rowdy mules, electrocution, rock falls, and more. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), underground mining has one of the highest fatal injury rates of any industry. Although the most dangerous mining events are explosions, the events which cause more serious injuries and deaths are “rock falls.” Rock falls happen when the roof, rib, or face of the mine gives way and drops tons of coal and rocks on miners causing serious injuries and death.

As the mining industry developed in the Punxsutawney area, notices of injuries and deaths due to rock falls in the mines were reported in the local newspapers:

*1887 – Henry Williams, an immigrant from England, who had arrived at Walston in June of 1887, was killed by a mass of rock falling upon him in September. He left a widow and two children.

*1901 – Charles Kupeiz, age 15, son of Alex Kupeiz, of Lindsey was scalped by a rock falling on his head in the Walston mines on November 6, 1901. Although he survived the rock fall, the wound required 32 stitches, made without anesthesia.

*1908 – Patrick Kelliher and his son were working in the Walston mines. Patrick went for tools in another room where a huge rock dropped from the roof, striking him below the neck, breaking his back and knocking him to the floor with such force that his head struck the floor so hard it broke his skull.

During the decade ending in 1910, more than 2,000 mine deaths occurred each year

- Continued on next page

Modern Mining Methods

Continued from previous page in the United States. This prompted the establishment of the Federal Bureau of Mines. The Bureau, housed in the Department of the Interior, had responsibility for research on and investigation of mine safety and health.

In 1947 the first Federal Coal Mine Safety Standards were established for bituminous coal and lignite mines in the United States. This law charged federal mine inspectors with the responsibility of providing safety violation notifications to mine operators and to the states.

In 1953 the Federal Coal Mine Safety Standards were further strengthened by re- quiring annual inspections of certain underground coal mines and giving limited enforcement to the Bureau of Mines, including the issuing of violation notices and imminent danger withdrawal orders. It set mandatory safety standards for underground coal mines, which had stringent limits for “gassy” mines. The law also authorized civil penalties against mine operators who refused the access of mine inspectors to mine property and permitted citations for those who did not comply with withdrawal orders. Surface mines and all mines with fewer than 15 employees were exempt from these rules.

In 1966 the law was revised to include small underground coal mines and provided for issuing withdrawal orders in cases of repeated unwarrantable failures to comply with standards. It also expanded the requirements for mine education and training programs.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 established the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), under the Department of Labor along with an independent Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission to provide independent reviews of MSHA’s enforcement actions. Under this law mine inspections were required four times a year for underground mines and twice a year for surface mines; miners’ rights were expanded and included protection from retaliation when exercising their rights; mandatory training was required for miners and mine rescue teams for all underground mines; and a safety net was established for miners who suffered from health ramifications related to mining.

The most recent Federal Legislation governing mining operations in the United States is the 2006 Act, which adds to the earlier requirements the establishing of mine-specific emergency response plans for underground coal mines, updated rules for mine rescue teams, methods for sealing abandoned areas of mines, prompt notification of mine accidents, and enhanced civil penalties for non-compliance.

Mine Memorial Tiles

On September 2, 2023, two new Memorial Tiles will be installed at the Punxsutawney Area Coal Memorial in honor of local miners who lost their lives in rock fall accidents in coal mines: William McClure and Joseph G. Guzzo, Jr.

The following notice appeared in the Brookville Jeffersonian Democrat of Oc- tober 31, 1918: “William, the 17-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. McClure, died Saturday night of injuries received in the McClure and Tyson coal mines near Big Run on Thursday. He was caught by a fall of rock and his head was badly crushed.”

William McClure was a young man who worked when mining equipment included pick, shovel, rails, coal cars, and in the smaller mines men and mules were the power to move coal from the mine to the tipple. At that time, small mines like the McClure and Tyson mine were exempt from the mine safety rules. William McClure is being honored by Ruth Soliday.

On Thursday, May 14, 2021, Joseph G. Guzzo, Jr., age 32 years, died of injuries received when a portion of the mine roof fell on him. Guzzo was a modern coal miner with 11 years of mining experience, nine of which were spent operating a continuous mining machine connected to a continuous haulage system at the Kocjancic Mine near Brockway, Pennsylvania. The Kocjancic Mine was in compliance with all of the Mine Safety and Health Administration requirements and had a solid safety record. However, an investigation determined there had been several omissions in safety practices. Although the mine had complied with the requirements to have a MSHA approved roof control and ventilation plan, there were some deviations from the plan. The mine operator had a practice of exceeding the maximum depth of cut requirements specified in the approved roof control and ventilation plans, did not install unsupported roof

- Continued on page 19