Coal-Mine Accidents in the United States, 1935 Page: 2
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2 COAL-MINE ACCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1935
from accidents in the coal mines of these States during 1935. These
States, however, do not rank as large producers of coal. Among the
larger producers, Alabama occupied the most favorable position, with
a fatality rate only about two-thirds as high as that for the United
States as a whole.
The most favorable position for nonfatal accidents was held by
South Dakota, as, according to the operators' reports, coal mining in
that State was free of lost-time injuries during 1935. Arkansas,
Missouri, and Wyoming also occupied favorable positions with
respect to nonfatal accidents, as the injury rate for each of these
States was less than half as high as the average rate for the United
States.
More than half of the fatalities in coal mines during 1935 were
caused by falls of roof and coal at or near the place at which the coal
was extracted. Other important causes of fatalities were accidents
in which mine cars and locomotives were involved and accidents from
explosives, explosions of gas and coal dust, electricity, and machinery.
The chief causes of nonfatal lost-time injuries were falls of roof and
coal, mine cars and locomotives, handling materials, and hand tools;
each class was responsible for more than 5,000 injuries. Of the total
number of nonfatal injuries among the employees, both above ground
and underground, 81 resulted in total permanent disability, 1,793 in
permanent partial disability, and 63,701 in temporary injuries which
lasted longer than the remainder of the day on which the accident
occurred.
The accident-severity rate-that is, the number of days of disability
of injured employees per thousand man-hours worked by all employees
at the mines-cannot be stated exactly from the information supplied
by the operating companies in their annual reports to the Bureau of
Mines. However, the rate may be estimated by applying a scale of
time charges that the Bureau of Mines developed from information
furnished by certain coal mines that have participated in the national
safety competition conducted by the Bureau of Mines. The scale
represents the combined experience during a recent 3-year period
(1933-35) of coal-mining companies that participated in the competi-
tion and is as follows:
Perma- Perma- Tem-
Fatal- nent nent porary
ities total partial lost-
disabil- disabil- time
ities ities injuries
Average number of employee-disability days per lost-time
accident in-
Anthracite mines .....----------------------------------- 6, 000 6, 000 1,111 24
Bituminous-coal mines......-------------------------------6, 000 6, 000 826 34
By applying the above scale to the number of accidents reported by
coal-mining companies to the Bureau of Mines during the calendar
years 1933, 1934, and 1935, the accident-severity rates for all coal
mines in the United States may be estimated as follows:
1933 1984 1985
Anthracite mines 12. 94 13. 00 16. 24
Bituminous-coal mines 13. 55 15. 24 15. 53
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Adams, W. W.; Geyer, L. E. & Parry, M. G. Coal-Mine Accidents in the United States, 1935, report, 1938; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12574/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.