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*13. Belts and gears on pumps should be properly guarded, and fuses of adequate strength should be installed in the pump power circuit. *14. The loading machines should be provided with proper fuses.

FIRE PROTECTION UNDERGROUND

*1. Adequate fire-fighting equipment should be located at the shaft bottom and available at all times for transportation to the various parts of the mine.

*2. Bags of rock dust should be provided on each side of all doors and fire extinguishers and bags of rock dust should be provided on each working section. Suitable fire extinguishers for electrical fires should be provided.

*3. At least four all-service gas masks should be provided for protection to those who may be engaged in fighting a fire.

*4. Not more than 2 days' supply of each kind of oil and grease should be stored at any one location in the mine at any one time, and the storage places should be of fireproof construction. Oil taken into the working sections should be in closed metallic containers.

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING

*1. All employees should wear protective hats while on duty in all parts of the mine and also in work around the mine where there is danger from falling objects; all employees should wear safety-toe shoes. Goggles should be worn when work is being done where particles are likely to fly.

*2. Escapeways should have incombustible walls and lining and should be free from fire hazards from the surface to the bottom.

*3. Face bosses should be provided with permissible flame safety lamps.

FIRST AID AND MINE RESCUE

*1. All employees should be given a course in first-aid training annually. *2. A selected number of men should be trained in mine-rescue work; at least 12 men for any mine employing more than 100 men should be trained.

SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS

*1. A safety inspector should be employed and should have no other duties to perform other than looking after the safety of the employees.

*2. A safety organization of officials and employees should be established and joint safety meetings of men and officials should be held at least monthly.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The inspectors were afforded cooperation by company officials in conducting the inspection and data requested were given promptly and fully. Respectfully submitted,

Approved :

F. J. SHILLING,

Coal Mine Inspector. W. A. GALLAGHER, Coal Mine Inspector.

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The facts disclosed by the inspection of this mine, including both commendable conditions and practices and those which should be given corrective measures, will be embodied in a detailed report to be made available to the public in accordance with the Federal Coal Mine Inspection and Investigation Act of 1941, H. R. 2082.

The purpose of this preliminary report is to point out good features as well as certain unsafe practices and conditions that should be corrected promptly.

VENTILATION

The volume of air measured at the intake was 56.320 cubic feet a minute, which is sufficient for present needs. The air was measured in all working entries and was found to be sufficient, except in 20 and 21 south off 4 west entry, where it was found to be inadequate due to leaky wooden stoppings, doors erected singly and equipped with latches.

Entry stoppings should be constructed of incombustible material and kept as nearly leakproof as possible.

Doors should be erected in pairs to form air locks, but in no event should they be provided with latches.

A minimum of 6,000 cubic feet of air should pass through the last open crosscut in 20 and 21 south off 4 west.

GAS

The mine is rated as gassy; however, no gas was detected by means of a permissible flame safety lamp during this inspection.

Air samples were taken and will be analyzed, and the results will be published in the final report.

DUST CONTROL

No method is used to control coal dust at this mine. Large accumulations of coal dust were observed along haulage roads in rooms and at the discharge ends of loading conveyers.

All accumulations of coal dust should be loaded into cars and removed from the mine.

As no precautions are taken to allay coal dust at its sources, dusty atmospheres are prevalent during cutting and loading operations.

It is recommended that water or a wetting solution be applied to the cutter bars of mining machines, loading points of all conveyors, and on all loaded cars.

ROCK DUSTING

Rock dust has been used on the main haulage roads and room headings. From visual inspection, these entries, all rooms, and all unsealed places to within 40 feet of the working faces should be rerock dusted.

Samples of dust were collected in the mine and will be analyzed in the Bureau of Mines laboratory. The results of the analysis will be published in the final report.

EXPLOSIVES

Permissible explosives are used to blast all coal, and all holes are stemmed to the collar with fire clay. Electric detonators are not being used as all shots are fired with fuze and caps.

All shots should be fired electrically and by means of permissible shot-firing units.

Permissible explosives and caps are taken into the mines in a wooden car provided for that purpose, and which is hauled by a mule. The electric power is cut off the mine while the explosives are being delivered to all sections of the mine. The explosives are stored in separate wooden, locked boxes. The company is commended for distributing and storing explosives in such a safe manner.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT, WIRING, AND GUARDING

The electric equipment is of the nonpermissible type; however, it appeared to be in good operating condition. Telephone wires at several places are on the same side of the entry as the power wires. Nips on cutting machines, drills, Joy loading machines, and locomotive cable are not equipped with fuses, and the

trolley wires are not guarded at several places where men are required to pass under.

Telephone wires should be on the opposite side of the power wires throughout the mine.

All trailing cables on cutting machines, drills, Joy loading machines, and locomotives should be provided with fuses.

Trolley wires should be guarded where men are required to pass under them.

Room timbering is generally good.

TIMBERING

It is recommended, however, that cross bars be used and set as close as possible to the face of all working places.

HAULAGE ROADWAYS, ETC.

The main haulage track is in good condition with respect to alinement and ballasting. However, clearance is inadequate. Road cleanings are shoveled onto the traveling side. Shelter holes are not provided; crosscuts are filled with gob and road cleanings.

Shelter holes should be provided at 60-foot intervals, and in future work, a clearance of at least 30 inches should be maintained from the nearest obstruction to the farthest projection of any moving equipment.

Crosscuts, if properly cleaned out, are acceptable as shelter holes.

LIGHTING

Carbide lamps are used by all underground employees.

All underground employees should use permissible electric cap lamps in place of the carbide lamps now being used.

GENERAL

About 90 percent of the employees wear hard hats, and only 80 percent wear safetytoe shoes. No goggles were observed.

All employees in and about the mine should wear protective clothing as an essential means of preventing injuries.

SURFACE HAZARDS

There is considerable dust in suspension during dumping operations in the tipple, and accumulation of dust were observed on the floors. No means of allaying dust is provided.

Water should be used for allaying the dust, or if this is impracticable, the floors, timbers, and projecting ledges should be rock-dusted.

Surface hazards include the following: unguarded belts, gears, sprocket wheels, saws, and pinions.

All pinions, belts, gears, saws, and sprocket wheels should be properly guarded.

CAGES AND OTHER HOISTING EQUIPMENT

Chains or gates are not provided across the open ends of the cage platforms while men are being hoisted or lowered.

Gates or chains should be provided at the ends of the cage platforms.

GENERAL COMMENTS

Smoking is permitted in the mine.

Smoking should be prohibited underground.

No safety meetings are being held by mine officials and employees.

Consideration should be given to the holding of monthly safety meetings by an organization composed of workmen and officials.

The officials and the employees extended full cooperation and assistance in this inspection.

W. H. GALLAGHER,

F. J. SHILLING,

Inspectors.

(NOTE. This release is issued by direction of the Federal Coal Mine Inspection Act of May 7, 1941 (Public Law 49, 77th Cong.))

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

INFORMATION SERVICE

BUREAU OF MINES

[For release Tuesday, December 21, 1943]

THREE ILLINOIS COAL MINES REINSPECTED

Additional safeguards for life and property have been recommended by Federal coal-mine inspectors for three Illinois coal mines following routine reinspections in September, Dr. R. R. Sayers, Director of the Bureau of Mines, announced today.

The mines, employing 566 men and producing 4,415 tons of coal daily, are the Florida Coal Co.'s West mine near Coulterville in Randolph County, the Marion County Coal Mining Corp.'s Glenridge mine, and the Centralia Coal Co.'s No. 5 mine, both at Centralia in Marion County. Safety improvements made since the original inspections in 1942 are commended in reports which have been submitted to the operating companies, Dr. Sayers informed Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes.

WEST MINE

Improved ventilation, safer blasting and haulage practices, control of coal dust, and the elimination of ignition hazards were among the major recommendations resubmitted by Inspectors Samuel Pursglove 3d and F. J. Smith for the 1,615-ton ́a-day West mine, which employs 257 men. To increase air in working places, the inspectors suggested detailed improvements in air-coursing facilities and the adoption of a split system of ventilation with overcasts. Regular tests for explosive gas should be made with permissible flame safety lamps, and ignition hazards should be minimized by prohibiting smoking underground, replacing open-flame cap lamps with permissible electric-cap lamps, and restricting the operation of open-type electrical equipment to places unlikely to contain gas, they said. The Bureau representatives also recommended rules for systematic timbering, instructing workers in the vibration method of testing roof, using only permissible explosives handled and fired in a permissible manner, suspending power wires on insulated hangers and guarding them, and establishing a safety organization and first-aid training.

Several safety features provided since the first inspection in May 1942 were commended by the inspectors. These included a heavy screen guard for the generator room switchboard, fuse protection for certain switches, a stopblock at the shaft landing, records on daily hoisting equipment inspections, safer methods of drilling shot holes and handling misfires, and placing fire extinguishers in good condition.

GLENRIDGE MINE

The Glenridge mine, which employs 158 men and produces 1,150 tons of coal daily, should be operated on a gassy basis, Inspectors Frank Kolisek and J. S. Malesky said after analyses of air samples disclosed insufficient oxygen and considerable methane, an explosive gas. Air in working places should be increased by improving ventilating facilities, tests for gas should be made with a permissible flame safety lamp not more than 3 hours before workers enter the mine, and ignition hazards should be eliminated, they added. The report contained other recommendations for using water and additional rock dust to control coal dust, storing and transporting explosives more safely and firing them in a permissible manner, maintaining unobstructed clearance and shelter holes along haulageways, printing and posting rules for systematic timbering, repairing electrical installations, and supervising underground operations more closely. Accident rates were rising, company records showed and the inspectors proposed an aggressive safety program. Outstanding safety improvements made since the first inspection in July 1942 included installing enclosed-type switches in the tipple, repairing the escape-shaft lining, good timbering, instruction of workers in the vibration method of roof testing, better underground storage of explosives and fire runs after blasting, cleaning out airway, new fireproof fan house, rock dust, a ban on running ahead of moving trips, and better ventilation for the underground stable.

CENTRALIA NO. 5 MINE

Renewing a recommendation submitted after the first inspection in September 1942, Inspectors J. F. Shilling and W. A. Gallagher advised that the Centralia No. 5 mine be operated on a gassy basis. They suggested moving the ventilating fan to the surface, reversing the air current so that haulageways will be ventilated with intake air, using a split system of coursing air, and eliminating ignition hazards. The mine employs 151 men and produces 1,650 tons daily.

Company records disclosed that 17 lost-time accidents, including two fatalities, occurred during the first 8 months of 1943. Both deaths were attributed to falls of roof, indicating a need for a standard plan of timbering, use of the vibration method of testing roof, and closer supervision, the inspectors said. Other recommendations called for the use of water and additional rock dust to control dust, safer surface storage of explosives and permissible methods of handling and firing them, adequate clearance and shelter holes and improvement of other haulage conditions and practices, and the elimination of electrical fire and shock hazards.

The inspectors commended several safety practices adopted since the original inspection, including safer storage of explosives underground, a check on the locations of oil and gas wells, and daily examinations of certain areas of the mine.

Copies of the reports are available for inspection at the Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C., and at the Bureau of Mines district office at Vincennes, Ind.

COAL-MINE REINSPECTION REPORT NO. 2, NO. 5 MINE, CENTRALIA COAL
CO., CENTRALIA, MARION COUNTY, ILL., JUNE 5-6, 1944

(By F. J. Gallagher and C. F. Kahre, coal-mine inspectors)
INTRODUCTION

This report is based on an inspection made June 5-6, 1944, to obtain information relating to health and safety conditions at this mine in accordance with the provision of the Federal Coal-Mine Inspection and Investigation Act of 1941, H. R. 2082. Improvements made since the last inspection, September 20-22, 1943, are recorded, and additional hazards observed are discussed. Recommendations included in the last report, which are not applicable under present conditions, have been omitted. Recommendations that should be given first consideration are indicated by asterisks (*).

One or more of the recommendations in this report may differ from some provision of the mining law or safety orders of the State. The intent is not to advocate noncompliance with the State law but to suggest that it may be advisable for the coal industry to examine such variations to determine if modification of the law or order may be beneficial.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The mine is opened by two timber-lined shafts approximately 545 feet deep and 100 feet apart. Mining is done in the Illinois No. 6 coal bed which averages 78 inches in thickness in this mine. A total of 226 men is employed; 174 underground and 52 on the surface on two shifts. The average daily production is 1,900 tons of coal. The number of men employed and the daily tonnage has increased since the previous inspection. The mine has an estimated life of about 19 years at the present rate of production. The mine is recognized as gassy by the State department governing mining.

SURFACE COAL HANDLING AND HOISTING

Open-type electric motors and switches are still being used in the tipple and dust accumulations were noted throughout the building. The

These conditions were previously reported in the September 1943 report. wooden coal storage bin in the vicinity of the shaft has not been made fire-resistant, and no fire doors have been erected at the shafts.

The hoisting equipment and practices were described in the September 1942 inspection report. The shaft timbering becomes dry during the winter months presenting a serious fire hazard.

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