Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-09-09
COAL DUST CAUSE
OF EXPLOSIONS
IN THE MINES
Startling Assertion by Chief Of
Mining Bureau Who Believes
He Has Found Origin of
Fearful Disasters.
Especial Dispatch to the Morning JourualI

! Especial Dispatch to the Morning JourualI
Washington. Sept THAT the dust
OF bituminous coal is an explosive
more insidious, threatening and dead
Is TO the miner thar firedamp. is the
assertion Of George s. Rice. chief min
ing engineer Of the bureau OF mines.
This is contrary to what has been the
general belief. nevertheless Il has been
proved beyond doubt by the expert
ments ol the last two years al the
PtttshGrg testing station OF the United
States geological survey. which is now
a part Of the bureau Of mines. While
many mine operators and miners have
believed that coal dust would ignite
from an explosion OF firedamp in a
mine, nearly all OF them contended
that the dust in a mine free from gas
could not explode. Consequently. in
many mines where no firedamp could
be detected miners have paid little at
tention to the accumulation Of dust
from the cutting Of the coal and il is
in these mines. Mr.. Rice declares.
some OF the great disasters have taken
place.
In a bulletin which has Just been
issued by the bureau, Mr. Rice refers
especially to the appalling series OF
great. wide-sweeping disasters that oC-
Cured in the United States in 1907.
as evidence OF the terrible havoc
wrought ~ dast explosions. on Janu-
airy 20. at the Primero mine. Colo
RADIO, there We're t~Weuty-foUr deaths;
IN January IS. at the Pence mine,
West Virginia. twelve deaths; ON jan
.~awm AA go aA- .H.aM -
Fayetteville. W Va. ninety deaths on
February T. az the Thomas mine.
Thomas. ". Va. twenty-five deaths.
on December ]. al the Naomi mine.
Pennsy lrania. thirty-five deaths, on
December 8. at The Monogah mine,
West Virginia. occurred the greatest
disaster in the history of coel mining
In the United states, a5N lives having
been lost. ON December &c, at the
Yolande mine. Alabama nfty-six men
were killed and on December 1s. AT
the Barr min $50 men were killed.
In this black month Of December
alone. says Mr. Rice. sfN men were
sacrificed. chiefly from the effects OF
coal dust. which. II not the initial
cause. in all eases was the agency ear
rying death.
IL was after these explosions thar
the federal government took up an in
ouiry into the cause OF the disasters
and established the testing station at
Plttshurg. The very first work Nas
TO prove 20 the mine operators and
miners that coal dust alone would eN-
plode. The dust was placed in a cylin-
der 100 feet long and six feet IN diam
eter. with a cannon lmbedued In n
end This cannon was filled with
black powder and discharged by cleo
s-a-aana 49, 81 - aaHaH H. -
flcaliy every instance there was q ter
rifle explosion. even more violent than
that caused by nredamp Each sue
ceeding experiment went further 10
prove that coal dust il the real Ereas 1
danger Of the mines FIredamp ac-
eordinE 20 Mr. Rice. carries its own !
warming. Whenever gas If present IN /
& mine in dangerous quantities a blue
flame rises from the safety lamp to !
notify the miner. but coal dust. though I
Zoe not attract attention IN
less present in large quantities Fire
damp IS generally found In certain
parts OF the mine. and except in no
table and very excNeptionable cases IS
controIiahie hy means % the veuu- I
currents II By mlschance "A
body ~ nredamp Is ignited in q mine.
tire force 81 the explosion IS terrific I
bat the effect IS localized unless dry /
coal dust Is PRESENT. or uniess tas .
rarely happensl an sxplusihle mixture I
OF air and eas extends through lzrEc
areas 90 mine. In a mine that -
DRY dust accumuiates everywhere and
the blast from the iznitiou n COM
hustion OF the bitumincus dust may
traverse miles OF ronu n entries
and even wreck structures AZ the en-
trance OF the mine
one q the unacccuntahle phases %
the coal dust problem has been the
dsincluation % operators and miners
% believe that the dust would explode \
9 thcut ire presence 81 gas The
United states sas net alone in this
for the Preach engineers refused 70