The first stop on the tour was the Lackawanna Coal Mine. The coal mine, located in Scranton, PA was mined from 1860 – 1966. Although this is not an active mine, they provide an excellent opportunity to learn about coal mining issues. Children as young as 8 years old worked in the mines, performing very dangerous jobs. Our tour guideprovided a lot of information about the dangers of mining, including explosions, collapses, and other safety and health issues. We all remember the tragedies in West Virginia, and the miraculous Chilean mine rescue, that have occurred in mines over the last few years. Seeing the conditions first hand puts those events into perspective.
We are now heading to Pittsburgh for tomorrow’s tour of the steel mill and a visit to the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Laboratory.
7 comments:
The coal mine was great, especially because we had a really nice tour guide. Riding the train car down into the mines and navigating the tunnels was a harrowing experience - I can't imagine how dangerous it must have been when the mines were first in operation. It was particularly eye-opening when the tour guide turned out the lights in the mine!
The Lakawanna Coal Mine was an great site for our first stop on the tour. The dangers of working in a coal mine were everywhere! It was interesting to hear how "technology" for detecting hazards like Methane gas evolved over time-from canaries to the safety lamp!
It was really crazy the conditions that the miners worked under, particularly the young children.
MSHA posts fatality reports on mining accidents on their web site. Go to http://www.msha.gov/FATALS/FABC.HTM to review them.
This tour was so informative. I had no clue of how small the spaces were or how dark and dangerous coal mining was. They definitely had a hard job!
Interesting story about coal miners and black lung disease...
http://bit.ly/j7qTvG
Thanks, Mitch, for the article on black lung disease. I think it's a very good piece, and the fact that, after the tour, I can visualize the conditions and know how difficult it is to wear a respirator even for a brief time makes it all the more powerful.
There's a march going on now in WV to Blair Mountain, which I think might be of interest to our group.
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