of filing application. This age limit does not apply to persons entitled to veteran preference.

United States Civil Service Commission basic requirements for mining engineers Applicants for the position of mining engineer must have successfully completed a full 4-year professional curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an accredited college or university; or have had 4 years of successful and progressive experience in technical engineering comparable to that which would have been acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year engineering curriculum in an accredited college or university.

Tentative selection and probational employment

After a coal-mine inspector or engineer has been selected from the civil-service register for possible employment he is interviewed personally by a Bureau of Mines official to determine his fitness for the position. If the interview discloses that the applicant is considered unsuitable for employment, he is no longer considered for the position. If the applicant is considered favorably and has passed the required medical examination, he is given a probational appointment of 1-year duration, and quarterly reports on his performance are submitted to the Washington office of the Bureau of Mines for review. Probationers who do not measure up to the Bureau of Mines standards are dismissed from the service in accordance with civil-service regulations.

Experience record of present inspection force

A study of the personnel records of the 247 Federal coal-mine inspectors now employed discloses an average of 23.9 years of experience in coal mines of which 0.2 years represent experience in supervisory capacities.

TRAINING OF PERSONNEL

Inspectors and engineers are given a 4-week intensive course of training at Pittsburgh, Pa., in technical matters and Bureau policy before being assigned to field headquarters. A copy of the training schedule for the group of inspectors and engineers employed in 1948 is included in appendix A of this statement. The training includes lectures and laboratory work covering such vital subjects as mine-rescue training, first-aid training, causes and prevention of mine fires and explosions, mine gases and methods of detection, use of electricity in mines, ventilation, explosives, methods of collecting and analyzing dust and air samples, method of conducting a coal-mine inspection, and method of preparing inspection and investigation reports.

Inspectors who complete the course of training are required to accompany experienced inspectors until they have demonstrated their ability to the supervisory official of the district to conduct inspections without immediate supervision. New inspectors are admonished to go slowly with their first inspections and to be very careful and thorough so hazards are not overlooked. The need for thoroughness is emphasized throughout the training period and is reemphasized from time to time thereafter so there is no misunderstanding of Bureau policy. A coal-mine inspector of outstanding ability is assigned to each Health and Safety Division field district to assist the district engineer in supervising the coal-mine inspectors under his jurisdiction. They accompany the regular inspectors and instruct them when necessary to improve the quality of their work. The supervisory inspectors report their observations to the district engineer and to the Washington office for critical review and appropriate action.

INSPECTION PROCEDURE

The Federal Mine Safety Code is used as a basis for determining unsafe conditions and practices in bituminous-coal and lignite mines in the United States. The Inspection Standards for Anthracite Mines are used as a basis for determining unsafe conditions and practices in anthracite mines in Pennsylvania. The inspection of a mine may require from a day to several weeks, depending on conditions such as the size of the mine, the thickness and pitch of the coal beds, the system of mining, degree of concentration of working places, and prevalence of hazardous conditions and practices.

The standard procedure for inspecting all coal and lignite mines is as follows: The inspector is instructed and required (a) to inspect every working place in the mine, all active haulageways and travelways, entrances to abandoned workings, accessible old workings, airways, escapeways, and other places where

men work or travel or where dangerous conditions may exist, electric equipment and installations, haulage facilities, first-aid equipment, ventilation facilities, communication installations, roof and rib conditions, blasting practices, etc., and (b) to make tests for explosive gas and oxygen deficiency in all mines, and to collect samples of mine air and mine dusts to determine conditions with respect to gas and coal-dust hazards. In multiple-shift operations the inspector devotes part of his time to inspection on each shift. He also inspects the surface plant at each mine.

Each coal-mine inspector is assigned a district composed of mines that he inspects regularly. The assignment of an inspection district to each inspector results in a greater personal interest on the part of the inspector to have the mines under his jurisdiction in the safest condition possible and to keep accidents in them to a minimum. Each inspector is responsible for devising ways and means of reducing accidents in his district by discussing accident-prevention measures with mine personnel and by promoting and attending safety meetings. Each inspector is required to continue to improve the effectiveness of his inspections by:

(a) Determining the outstanding causes of accidents before he begins the inspection of a mine, this information to be used during the inspection to guide him in observing hazards and suggesting ways of eliminating them.

(b) Discussing observed hazards and means of correcting them with (1) the accompanying official at the time the hazards are discovered, (2) the mine-safety committeemen, (3) the higher company officials.

(c) Enlisting the cooperation of labor, management, State inspection personnel, and other safety-promotion agencies.

(d) Spending enough time at the active working faces to observe, wherever practicable, a complete cycle of mining operations, including timbering, cutting, drilling, blasting, loading, and haulage.

(e) Attending local union meetings occasionally to discuss safety with the members and endeavoring to enlist their cooperation in accident prevention. (f) Participating in mining institutes, Holmes Safety Association chapters and councils, and similar agencies dedicated to the promotion of mine safety. A preliminary report covering conditions and practices of primary importance with respect to safety is prepared and posted at the mine within 1 day following the completion of an inspection. It is intended to call attention to important unsafe conditions and practices that require immediate correction before the more detailed final report can be prepared. Copies of the preliminary report are typed in the field offices and are distributed to the mine operator, the State inspection agency, the mine workers' organization, and to the Geological Survey if the mine is on the public domain or Indian land.

A final, detailed report is prepared as soon as possible after the completion of an inspection. It contains a record of all observed violations of the Federal Mine Safety Code for Bituminous-Coal and Lignite Mines or the Safety Standards for Anthracite Mines together with practical recommendations for correction of unsafe conditions and practices. Provisions also are made to include recommendations for correcting unusual hazards not specifically covered in the code or anthracite standards. The final reports are typed in the field offices; are reviewed carefully and copies are distributed to the mine operator, the State inspection agency, the mine workers' organization, the Joint Industry Safety Committee if the mine is affiliated with the United Mine Workers of America, and to the Geological Survey if the mine is on the public domain or on Indian land. Section 6b of the Coal Mine Inspections and Investigations Act of May 7, 1941, provides for publishing information obtained under the act. Therefore a copy of each final inspection report is forwarded to the Office of Mineral Reports, Bureau of Mines, where a press release, covering salient features of the report, is prepared and sent to the newspapers in the area in which the mine is located. Inasmuch as the act delegates no authority to the Federal inspectors to enforce compliance with their recommendations, the publication of information in the reports focuses public attention on the need for safer mining practices and the prevention of injuries to those who produce the Nation's coal supply.

HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL MINE SAFETY CODE

Failure of the United Mine Workers of America and the Bituminous Operators' Negotiating Committee to adjust their differences in framing a new work contract in 1946 culminated in seizure of a large segment of the bituminous-coal industry

by the Secretary of the Interior under authority of Executive Order No. 9728 (dated May 21, 1946, 11 F. R. 5593).

The agreement of May 29, 1946, between the Secretary of the Interior, acting as Coal Mines Administrator, and the United Mine Workers of America covered for the period of Government possession the terms and conditions of employment with respect to all mines in Government possession which were as of March 31, 1946, subject to the national bituminous wage agreement dated April 11, 1945. Section 2 of this agreement provided as follows:

"MINE SAFETY PROGRAM

"(A) FEDERAL MINE SAFETY CODE

"As soon as practicable and not later than 30 days from the date of the making of the agreement, the Director of the Bureau of Mines, after consultation with representatives of the United Mine Workers and such other persons as he deems appropriate, will issue a reasonable code of standards and rules pertaining to safety conditions and practices in the mines. The Coal Mines Administrator will put this code into effect at the mines. Inspectors of the Federal Bureau of Mines shall make periodic investigations of the mines and report to the Coal Mines Administrator any violations of the Federal Mine Safety Code. In cases of violation, the Coal Mines Administrator will take appropriate action which may include discipling or replacing the operating manager so that with all reasonable dispatch said violation will be corrected."

Accordingly, the Coal Mines Administrator designated the following men to act as a committee in formulating a Federal Mine Safety Code: Dr. R. R. Sayers, formerly Director, United States Bureau of Mines as chairman; A. D. Lewis and Harrison Combs, representing the United Mine Workers of America; G. H. Sambrook and A. J. Bartlett, representing the coal operators; and John E. Jones representing the Coal Mines Administrator. The Director of the Bureau of Mines was assisted in the work by the following bureau personnel: J. J. Forbes, now Chief of the Health and Safety Division; M. J. Ankeny, now Chief of the Coal Mine Inspection Branch; G. W. Grove, and G. W. Owings, supervisory field officials.

The members of the committee met on June 1, 1946, and began formulating a safety code. The final draft of the Federal Mine Safety Code was completed, and was put into effect on July 29, 1946 by the Coal Mines Administrator, and thereafter was used by the Bureau of Mines as a guide for determining unsafe conditions and practices during inspections of bituminous-coal and lignite mines. Government possession of coal mines terminated on June 30, 1947, and thereafter the Coal Mines Administrator no longer had authority to administer the provisions in the Federal Mine Safety Code. However, the national bituminouscoal wage agreements of 1947 and 1948 between the bituminous-coal-mine operators and the United Mine Workers of America continued the principal provisions of the 1946 agreement, and the Federal Mine Safety Code was adopted and incorporated by reference in these contracts and stipulated that the operators shall comply promptly with recommendations of the Federal coal-mine inspectors (functioning under the provisions in Public Law 49, 77th Cong.) with the right of appeal to a joint industry safety committee.

SAFETY STANDARDS FOR ANTHRACITE MINES

In many respects the conditions, practices, and hazards in anthracite mines differ from those in bituminous-coal mines. Therefore, it was necessary to prepare a separate set of safety standards for use of Federal coal-mine inspectors assigned to inspect anthracite mines under Public Law 49. The anthracite standards parallel insofar as possible the Federal Mine Safety Code for Bituminous-Coal and Lignite Mines.

The anthracite wage agreement of June 7, 1946 (and subsequent agreements), between the international union and districts 1, 7, and 9, United Mine Workers of America, and the anthracite operators provides in part as follows:

"6 (A) FEDERAL MINE SAFETY STANDARDS

"Inspectors of the Federal Bureau of Mines shall make periodic investigations of the mines, and report to the mine management and the United Mine Workers of America any violations of the Federal safety standards. Operators and mine

workers agree to accept such standards of safety adaptable and practical to the anthracite industry, subject, however, to the right of review by the Director of the United States Bureau of Mines, upon petition from the operator or the United Mine Workers of America."

EDUCATIONAL AND INVESTIGATIVE WORK

The reduction or elimination of coal-mine accidents will be brought about not only by discovering hazards during coal-mine inspections and recommending what should be done but equally important how to do it. How to prevent, reduce, or eliminate hazards involves safety education and to this end the Health and Safety Division embarked on a training program for coal-mine officials and. workmen. Accordingly, some of the personnel of the Coal Mine Inspection Branch of the Bureau of Mines perform special work, as provided in section 6 of Public Law 49. This section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Bureau of Mines to expend the funds made available to him for the protection or advancement of health or safety in coal mines, and for the prevention or relief of accidents or occupational diseases therein, in such lawful manner as he may deem most effective in the light of the information obtained under this act to promote the accomplishment of the object for which such funds are granted. Educational activities are at present confined to training mine supervisory officials and mine-safety committeemen and other employees in the fundamentals of mine safety.

Twenty-two instructors are now regularly engaged in teaching coal-mine supervisory officials with respect to safety as applied to falls of roof and coal, ventilation, the handling and storage of explosives, use of electricity, transportation, explosions and fires, miscellaneous hazards, and other items identified in the Federal Mine Safety Code for Bituminous-Coal and Lignite Mines and in the Safety Standards for Anthracite Mines. Such training is not ordinarily available to mine officials, and the need for it has long been apparent to the coal-mining industry and to the Bureau of Mines. The interest in the training is manifested by the attendance at the classes. Since this work was started in March 1948, more than 1,500 supervisory officials completed the course, and more than 2,300 were in training on March 1, 1949. The training is being conducted in the principal coal-producing regions of the Nation.

The training program for mine-safety committeemen was instituted to provide such personnel with sound knowledge of the Federal Mine Safety Code, the Safety Standards for Anthracite Mines, and the fundamentals of mine safety, so that they would be fortified better in cooperating with management in improving safety and health conditions and practices in coal mines. The mine-safety committees were established as part of the contract between the mine operators and the United Mine Workers of America under which the committees may inspect any mine development or coal-producing equipment and report their findings and recommendations to management for corrective action. This training is being conducted by Bureau instructors in the principal coal-producing areas of the Nation. The work was started in January 1947; and from that date to March 1, 1949, almost 8,000 mine-safety committeemen and other mine employees have completed the training and approximately 1,500 were in training on March 1, 1949. The training program is being expanded because of the increasing demand for it. Such training also is available to mine employees not covered by the national bituminous-coal wage agreement. In view of the need for training approximately 400,000 mine employees (other than mine supervisory officials) in accident prevention, it is hoped that the training work can be extended to include such employees.

ROOF-CONTROL WORK

The Bureau of Mines, since its inception, has carried on special investigations for the benefit of the mining industry to promote safe and healthful working conditions. Such investigations usually involve field and laboratory studies and research. The outstanding hazard in coal mines that has resulted in the greatest number of deaths and injuries since the mining of coal began is from falls of roof and coal. Falls of roof and coal cause more than half the annual fatalities in coal mines and about one-fourth of the nonfatal injuries. The Federal coalmine inspectors give special attention to mine roof and the prevention of its unexpected collapse. In addition, a small group of Bureau engineers is studying the fundamentals of roof control and has developed what is know as the suspension roof-support method. Moreover, these engineers are encouraging the mining industry to experiment with those methods of support which differ from conventional methods.

The principle involved in this method of roof control is the prevention of initial sag and subsequent failure of thin bands of roof strata that lie above coal beds by reinforcing the strata with steel rods as soon as the roof is exposed. Installations supervised by Bureau of Mines personnel have been made in numerous coal and ore mines, and results indicate the method to be quite successful. Inasmuch as this method largely eliminates the use of timber sets (collars and legs) and posts, it is of particular value in mechanized mines where dislodgement of standard supports is likely to result in a fall of roof and possible fatal injury to persons in the immediate vicinity. The widespread interest shown by the mining industry in this new method, together with its approval by State mining departments and successful application in many mines, is proof of its great possibilities in reducing accidents from falls of roof and coal. To date no roof-fall accidents have been reported in those areas of mines where the suspensionroof supports are used exclusively, and some companies have adopted the new method as standard practice throughout their mines.

Bureau of Mines engineers and inspectors are continuing to conduct experiments to further improve and simplify the method and to determine its applicability to various roof conditions. The results of such work will be publicized from time to time.

Additional investigative work conducted by personnel of the Coal Mine Inspection Branch includes:

(1) Special ventilation studies relating to the use of auxiliary blower fans with tubing, and the volume of air in the last open crosscuts of entries. Ventilating-pressure surveys are made at the request of coal-mine operators with a view to improving the efficacy and quality of ventilation.

(2) Cooperation with the Health Branch in conducting surveys of airborne dusts in coal mines.

(3) Experimental work in the use of permissible explosives and blasting devices at the request of mine operators to the end of eliminating the use of dangerous black-blasting powder in underground mines.

(4) Investigation of coal-mine disasters to determine causes and means of prevention. The personnel of the Coal Mine Inspection Branch assists in rescue and recovery work following disasters.

(5) Investigation of underground electrical hazards. Requests for investigations generally originate with mine operators who are interested in increasing the safety and efficiency of their electrical installations.

INSPECTIONS UNDER PUBLIC LAW 328

Public Law 328, Eightieth Congress, approved August 4, 1947, and effective for 1 year, provided that the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Mines, if upon inspection of any coal mine pursuant to the act of May 7, 1941, finds that the safety standards set forth in the Federal Mine Safety Code with respect to major hazards in underground bituminous-coal and lignite mines are not being observed, shall notify the owner or operator of such mines and the State agency charged with enforcement, of the Federal inspectors' findings and recommendations and request the mine owner and State agency report the action taken to correct the hazards. The law required the Secretary of te Interior to submit quarterly reports to the Congress. Public Law 328 recognized, by inference, the Federal Mine Safety Code as the basis for determining unsafe conditions and practices in the bituminous-coal and lignite mines of the Nation. Under this law, enforcement of safety measures was left to the State agencies, and the purpose of the law was to place upon the States the burden of making the mines safe and keeping them safe for the protection of men underground until Congress had an apportunity to study the problem thoroughly. The Congress made it clear that if the States do not guard the safety of the miners, the Congress would act further. This act expired August 1948.

During the year in which Public Law 328 was effective, 2,184 underground coal mines were inspected; there represented 72 percent of the Nation's coal production. Of these, 1,934 were reinspected to determine the extent of compliance with safety recommendations made during the first inspection. According to information gathered by the Federal coal-mine inspectors, a total of 27,313 hazards identified in Public Law 328 were observed during the first inspection; during the reinspections Federal coal-mine inspectors reported that 34 percent of the hazards were eliminated, 15 percent were corrected in part, and no corrective action was taken with respect to 51 percent of the violations.