Published in the March 2012 Coal USA Magazine

 

 

According to historical data from the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, 2402 coal miners died in US mining operations in 1924, the year this photo was published.

 

While mining’s ranks are notably smaller than they were nearly 90 years ago (748,805 then to 129,631, preliminarily, in 2010), we have also made significant strides in technology and safety that are undeniably helping us reach that ultimate goal of zero fatalities. While we still have a way to go on that road, last year’s 21 coal deaths was the second-lowest since federal officials began keeping records in 1910.

 

Photo courtesy United States Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration National Mine Health and Safety Academy Technical Information Center & Library, Bureau of Mines Collection.