Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1938 Page: 1
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METAL-MINE ACCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING
THE CALENDAR YEAR 19381
By WILLIAM W. ADAMS 2 and MARY E. KOLHOS
INTRODUCTION
A new record in accident prevention was made by the metal-
mining 4 industry of the United States in 1938, as signalized by a lower
fatality rate than in any previous year. The rate was less than half
as high as in 1911, the earliest year for which figures are available.
A good safety record was also established in the prevention of non-
fatal injuries, as the injury rate was lower than in any other years
except 1931 to 1935, a 5-year period notable for its unusually low
injury rates.
Employment was more limited in 1938 than in 1937, both in number
of men employed and total number of man-hours worked. The
number of workdays per man also was smaller than in 1937.
Operating companies reported that 7,233 mines were active in1938
or some part of the year and that the total number of men employed
was 103,027. This figure represents the summation of the average
number of men employed as reported by the companies, the average
for each mine being that for the period during which the mine was
active. The number of employees at all mines in 1938 was 15,402
less than in 1937. Reports covering all mines indicated a total of
188 million man-hours worked during the year, or 21 percent less
than the nearly 240 million man-hours worked in 1937. In the per-
formance of this work accidents occurred that resulted in the death
of 156 employees and the injury of 12,722, each injured employee
being disabled for more than the remainder of the day on which lihe
was hurt. The fatality rate for 1938 was 0.83 per million man-hours
worked, which was 9 percent more favorable than the rate of 0.91
for 1937. Nonfatal injuries occurred at the rate of 67.61 per million
man-hours worked, an improvement of 10 percent compared with the
injury rate of 75.37 for 1937.
Although California was the leading metal-mining State based upoI
number of men employed (12,821), it ranked tenth from best in
fatality rate and twenty-first in injury rate per million man-hours of
employment of States having 1,000 or more men employed at metal
and nonmetal mines. Among these larger States, New York, Tennes-
see, and Virginia had no fatal accidents and ranked first, second, and
third, respectively, in number of man-hours worked.
1 Work on manuscript completed September 1940.
2 Supervising statistician, employment statistics section, Bureau of Mines.
3 Statistical assistant, employment statistics section, Bureau of Mines.
4 Excluding coal mining.
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Adams, William W. & Kolhos, Mary E. Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States During the Calendar Year 1938, report, 1941; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12595/m1/3/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.