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Mining Publication: Technology News 497 - "You Are My Sunshine": A New Video Release From NIOSH on the Sunshine Mine Fire
Keywords: Disasters Emergency management Fires Regulations
Original creation date: August 2002
Authors: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Technology News - August 2002
Download PDF Document (0.17 MB)
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20024218
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Technology News 497, 2002 Aug; :1-2
The Sunshine Mine near Kellogg, ID, was the nation's premier silver producer for many years. In 1972, the mine was nearly 6,000 feet deep, contained hundreds of miles of worked-out areas, and employed nearly 500 people. Because of its depth and the type of host rock for the silver (unburnable quartzite), the general thinking of the day was that fires in mines such as the Sunshine were impossible, because "hard-rock mines don't burn." What wasn't really considered was that timber supports, foam insulation, and mining equipment do burn and that the carbon monoxide gas produced by burning is far more deadly than fire itself.
Thus, no one was prepared when, on May 2, 1972, a fire of unknown origin broke out below the 3100 level of the mine. Before long, 173 miners on the day shift were trapped by thick, black smoke. By the time the fire was out, 91 miners had died, and the Sunshine Mine Fire became known as one of the worst mine disasters of the 20th century. It became the catalyst for passage of the Metal/Nonmetal Health and Safety Act of 1977, which applied the same federal safety standards to hard-rock mines as those regulating coal. Mandated safety training, mine inspections, and equipment standards were brought into force.
Image of publication Technology News 497 - Technology News - August 2002
Download PDF Document (0.17 MB)
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20024218
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Technology News 497, 2002 Aug; :1-2
See Also
Behavioral and Organizational Dimensions of Underground Mine Fires
The Brookwood Disaster and Electrical Requirements for Hazardous (Classified) Locations
The Emergency Communication Triangle
Emergency Escape and Refuge Alternatives
Multiple Type Discriminating Mine Fire Sensors
Refuge Alternatives in Underground Coal Mines
Smoke, Carbon Monoxide, and Hydrogen Chloride Production from the Pyrolysis of Conveyor Belting and Brattice Cloth
Technology News 507 - NIOSH Safety Talk: The Emergency Communication Triangle
Technology News 549 - MFIRE 3.0 - NIOSH Brings MFIRE into 21st Century
Underground Coal Mining Disasters and Fatalities: United States, 1900-2006
You Are My Sunshine
Page last reviewed: May 1, 2017
Page last updated: September 20, 2012
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
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