Mining Publication: Underground Coal Mine Disasters 1900-2010: Events, Responses, and a Look to the Future
Original creation date: January 2010
This paper captures almost 110 years of history of underground coal mine disasters in the United States. The deadly disasters of the first ten years of the twentieth century led to the U.S. Congress founding the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) in 1910. The authors examine the changing trends in mine disasters including the frequency of fatalities, causal types, the responses to those disasters and most importantly, the growing body of research on human behavior in mine emergencies. Emphasis is on the future - integrating the research on human behavior in disasters into the mining industry. This research includes the integration of the judgment decision-making process, communication, leadership in escape, expectations training, incident command center issues including fatigue, shifts and leadership, plus issues concerning the introduction of refuge chambers into U.S. mines. The authors suggest that a key factor in meeting the goal of increasing successful mine escape and rescue while decreasing fatalities and injuries lies in the field of social-psychological research and human behavior interventions.
Authors: MJ Brnich, KM Kowalski-Trakofler
Conference Paper - January 2010
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20036849
Extracting the Science: A Century of Mining Research. Brune JF, ed., Littleton, CO: Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, 2010 Jan; :363-372
See Also
- A Catastrophe-Theory Model for Simulating Behavioral Accidents
- Emergency Escape and Refuge Alternatives
- Emergency Management
- An Examination of Antecedents to Coal Miners' Hearing Protection Behaviors: A Test of the Theory of Planned Behavior
- Overview of U.S. Research on Three Approaches to Ensuring That Coal Miners Work Safely: Management, Workplace Design and Training
- Refuge Alternatives in Underground Coal Mines
- Research Report on Refuge Alternatives for Underground Coal Mines
- Review of the Phoenix of Natural Disasters: Community Resilience
- Technology News 535 - NIOSH Releases New Educational Video: Escape from Farmington No. 9: An Oral History
- Technology News 537 - NIOSH Develops New Mine Refuge Chamber Training
- Underground Coal Mining Disasters and Fatalities: United States, 1900-2006
- Page last reviewed: 9/21/2012
- Page last updated: 9/21/2012
- Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program