Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1925 Page: 67
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METAL-MINE ACCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES
67
porary injuries of 1 to 14 days were weighted 6 days each. The
factors for weighting temporary injuries were developed as a result
of a statistical study of individual accidents reported to the Bureau
of Mines by a number of representative mining companies. In the
absence of definite data an average weight of 800 lost days was
assigned to permanent partial injuries, because it represented the
approximate loss of time from this class of accidents reported to the
Industrial Accident Commission of California.2
The loss of time from accidents in 1925 was calculated as follows:
Lost days
371 fatalities at 6,000 lost days each__ --------------------------2, 226, 000
21 permanent total disabilities at 6,000 lost days each -------------126, 000
653 permanent partial disabilities at 800 lost days each ------------522, 400
8,163 temporary disabilities (more than 14 days) at 32 lost days each 261, 216
26,295 temporary disabilities (1 to 14 days) at 6 lost days each ------ 157, 770
Total (35,503 lost-time accidents) -----------------------3, 293, 386
Average lost days per accident__ ----------------------------- 92. 8
Records for 1924 showed that accidents during that year caused a
loss of time equivalent to 3,304,000 man-days, or 9.2 per cent of the
35,734,008 shifts worked by all employees during that year. This
figure includes the 41 deaths in the Milford disaster, each of which
was weighted 6,000 lost days. Excluding the deaths resulting from
this disaster, the percentage of lost time would have been 8.6.
The year in which the accidents happened does not, of course,
cover all loss of time due to the accidents. For example, the lost-
time equivalent of 6,000 days for deaths and permanent disabilities
represents a charge of 20 lost years for each employee killed or per-
manently disabled. Moreover, many temporary injuries occurring
late in the year result in disability of the employees beyond the close
of the year in which the injuries were received. The foregoing
figures, however, give a general idea of the extent of the loss of time
to the employees, their families, the companies, and to the industry
from accidents that occurred during the years mentioned.
Many accidents in mines are doubtless preventable, and the yearly
loss of time to the industry can certainly be further reduced, but
material and rapid progress can be achieved only through constant
vigilance and cooperation among all employees, operating companies,
and other agencies that are engaged in the study of accident pre-
vention in the mining industry.
COMPARATIVE SEVERITY OF DIFFERENT CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS
Records of accidents at metal mines in the United States over a
long period of years (1915-1924) show that, for the period as a whole,
one man is killed out of every 70 accidents that occur. This propor-
2 Report of Industrial Accident Commission of California, 1921, p. 67.
45676--27-6
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Adams, William W. Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1925, report, 1927; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12460/m1/73/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.