xviii

Supplement to THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

July 24, 1914.

The death rate from accidents per 1,000 persons
employed was :—Below ground, 1-27; above ground ?
0-41; below and above ground, 1-10. In 1912 the
figures were :—Below ground, 1-36; above ground, 106;
below and above ground, 1’30. As will be seen, there
is a marked reduction in the death rate per 1,000 per-
sons employed, and it is almost identically the same as
in 1911.

There have been no lives lost or persons injured by
explosions of firedamp or coal dust during the year.
This is the third consecutive year in which there has
been no fatal accident from the above causes, and during
that period there has only been one person injured, the
accident being due to a defective safety lamp. As many
of the coal mines in the district are deep, and give oft
firedamp freely, the above results may be considered
very satisfactory, and denote a fairly good standard of
ventilation.

Compared with the previous year, there is a welcome
reduction of nine in the number of deaths from falls.
Four more lives were lost by falls at the working face,
but there were 13 fewer fatalities on roadways. The
non-fatal accidents also show a sensible reduction of 21
accidents and 20 persons injured. The 47 deaths from
falls of ground represent nearly 64 per cent, of the
underground fatalities, and nearly 59 per cent, of the
total deaths. As a rule the face timbering is very well
and systematically carried out, but cases are frequently
reported of the maximum distances being exceeded. In
many mines in the district portions of the workings are
much cut up by faults or steps and slips running
parallel to the coal face, and the use of bars set at right
angles to the face might be adopted with great advan-
tage, instead of single props and heads, which are more
easily canted out, especially when the gradient of the
seam is steep. Some of the 19 fatalities on roadways
might have been prevented if greater care had been exer-
cised where it was necessary to disturb existing roof
supports which had been in position for years. Tem-
porary props in greater numbers and running bars
might in two or three cases have prevented fatalities
where enlarging was being carried out. A comparison
of the several counties shows that in Cheshire the single
fatality was a fall of roof. In Denbighshire there were
14 deaths out of a total of 18, equal to 77 per cent. In
Flintshire there were two out of four. West Lanca-
shire there were 30 out of 51 underground fatalities, or
about 58 per cent. The reduction in the death rate
from falls is therefore practically confined to West
Lancashire, the percentage for last year in that part of
the district being 84 per cent, of the total underground
fatalities.

Under the heading of shaft accidents, there were three
fatalities, causing three deaths, or an increase of one on
the previous year. There were also eight non-fatal
accidents, resulting in injuries to 12 persons, an increase
of three in the number of accidents, and one more
person injured. Two of the fatalities were due to
persons falling down the shafts from part way down.
Of the non-fatal accidents, four, causing injuries to
eight persons, occurred whilst ascending or descending
by machinery, and two at least deserve special mention.
At Langtree Colliery, a three-deck cage was being
lowered down a shaft 530 yds. in depth, eight men being
in the top deck, and four men in the middle deck, the
bottom deck being empty. The guide rods consist of
four ropes, two at each end of each cage, and the
entrance to the cages is at the sides, both ends and the
other side in each cage being closed. The open side of
both cages is protected by gates. The cages are
arranged back to back with a clearance of 15 in. between
them. Only one cage was being used for raising and
lowering persons at the time of the accident, as the
bonnet had been removed from the other cage in order
to facilitate the fixing of a range of 2 in. pipes in the
shaft. The shaft is 13 ft. in diameter, and a current
of 120,000 cu. ft. of air per minute was passing. Just
before the cages reached meetings, the empty ascend-
ing cage, owing to the absence of the bonnet, was
deflected to such an extent by the wind pressure that
it collided with the descending cage, and the rope of
the ascending cage was drawn from its socket, allowing
the empty cage to fall to the bottom of the shaft. The
bottom deck of the descending cage was badly tele-
scoped, but fortunately it contained no one. If there
had been no gates fitted to the cage, no doubt several
of the men would have been thrown out and killed. At
Bersham Colliery a pitman, who was examining the
shaft, had a most miraculous escape. He was in the
top deck of the descending cage, and when about 40
yds. down, signalled for the cage to be stopped. He
afterwards signalled for the cage to be lowered, and just
at this time the engineman fainted, and in falling he
appears to have reversed the engine, causing the cage
containing the pitman to be brought to bank, and it
crashed into the headgear. The occupant of the cage
jumped out, and fell a distance of 20 ft., but fortu-
nately clear of the shaft, and was not much worse. Flat
ropes were in use, and there was not sufficient clearance
in which to fit detaching hooks. A new steel headgear
has since been erected, and detaching hooks are now
fitted. If a detaching hook and automatic contrivance
had been in use at the time of the accident (February
24) the accident would probably have been prevented.

There were 24 fatalities under the heading of
miscellaneous underground accidents, causing the same
number of deaths, an increase of five in the number of
fatal accidents, and four more deaths, as compared with
the previous year. Two were due to explosives, 17 were
haulage accidents, and the remaining five are included
as sundries. In the non-fatal accidents there is a
reduction of 22, and 16 fewer persons were injured, than
in the previous year. There were two fatal accidents
and six non-fatal accidents reported as being due to the
use of explosives, the number of deaths being two, and
seven persons were injured. The deaths and injuries
were caused in all cases but one by being struck by
stones or coals projected by shots. The remaining
case occurred in a small sinking pit, where some cart-

ridges of gunpowder were being pressed into a triangular
shaped hand-drilled hole of insufficient size. Three
cartridges had been inserted, but when the fourth was
being pushed into the hole with a wooden rammer the
charge exploded. Probably some grit had got into the
hole between the cartridge and the side of the hole, and
too much force was used. The other fatality occurred
at Sutton Manor Colliery, one person being killed and
another injured. An unsuccessful attempt had been
made to fire a 12 oz. charge of Swalite at the face of a
tunnel or stone drift by means of a No. 7 detonator and
high-tension electric battery. The shot firer discon-
nected the cable, examined it, and again attempted to
fire the charge, but with the same result. He then
disconnected the cable from the battery, and went into
the face accompanied by the contractor, taking his
battery with him with the intention of testing the cable
from the inbye end. Apparently this was never accom-
plished, as the shot went off almost immediately, the
contractor being killed and the shot firer injured. The
battery was afterwards found 12 yds. from the face of
the tunnel. The cable and battery were apparently
both in order, two shots having just been fired with the
same apparatus. The cable was almost new, and con-
sisted of a long length coupled to a short length of
9 ft. next the shot, and which was connected to the
detonator leads. It was suggested that owing to the
fumes of the previous shot, the shot firer, when about to
test the cable, coupled the battery to the wires of the
short length by mistake, and thus fired the shot, instead
of passing a current through the long length of cable.
If such was the case, the battery must have been dis-
connected from the short cable after the accident, and
brought to where it was afterwards found. The shot-
lighter said he was not aware of the short length of
cable, and therefore could not have coupled the battery
to it by mistake. It is difficult, however, to understand
how he did not know that the cable consisted of two
lengths joined together, as he had fired several shots
with the cable, and had already examined it twice after
attempting to fire the shot. A witness at the outbye end
of tunnel declared that the shot went off almost as soon
as the two men reached the face of the tunnel, and
before there was time for either of them to have inter-
fered with the cable or shot. On the other hand, the
short length of cable was found disconnected from the
long length, and Mr. Nicholson is inclined to the opinion
that the wires of the short length of cable must have
been loosely coupled to the battery in mistake for those
of the main cable.

Compared with the previous year, there is an increase
of five in the number of fatal accidents and deaths from
haulage, but a reduction of 30 in the number of persons
injured. Ten persons were killed whilst engaged in
haulage operations, an increase of three on the previous
year, but only 35 persons were injured, or exactly one-
half the number in 1912. Four persons were killed
while walking inbye or outbye, or double the number of
the previous year, and only one person was injured. The
number of miscellaneous haulage fatalities was the same
as last year, namely, three, and the number of non-fatal
accidents under this heading was 10, exactly double the
previous year. Two persons met their death while ille-
gally riding, and one when going in front instead of
behind tubs, and using insufficient sprags. Four out
of the 16 fatalities were caused by runaway tubs, some
of which w’ould have been prevented if the stops and
back stays provided had been used. On the steep
gradients which are so common on roads in the mines
in this district great care is required to prevent such
occurrences.

No accident at all occurred during the year in con-
nection with the use of electricity.

There were no fatal accidents caused by machinery
underground. Eight persons were injured as compared
with five in 1912.

The fatal accidents under the heading of “ Sundries ”
show an increase of two, and five persons were killed.
There were 32 non-fatal accidents, resulting in injuries
to 37 persons, an increase of 11 on last year.

There were six separate fatal accidents on the sur-
face, involving the loss of six lives. This is a reduction
of nine as compared with last year’s fatalities. Two of
the deaths were caused by machinery owing to the per-
sons* clothing being caught by revolving shafts. Three
persons were killed on surface railways, two of them
being crushed by wagons while in the act of coupling
them, and the remaining fatality would have been
avoided if the person engaged in moving some wagons
had warned the deceased of his intention to do so.

There were 47 dangerous occurrences reported during
the year, and they are divided under the various head-
ings as follows :—Ignition of gas, 1; underground fires,
4; breakage of winding rope, chain, or other gear, 39;
overwinding, 2; inrush of water, 1. The most serious
of the above occurrences was an underground fire at
Moss No. 4 mine on January 12, which was discovered
by three firemen who were proceeding inbye about
6 p.m. along the main intake haulage road in the Yard
seam. After detecting a smell of burning, they found
the haulage rope broken, and a fire raging near the
return wheel, 750 yds. from the shaft, and about 350
yds. from the working faces. An alarm was at once
given, and the air was cut off by opening the separation
doors, and canvas doors were placed in the intake air-
way. Fire extinguishers were brought into play, and
finally water pipes were laid and connected to a tank in
the shaft, which afforded a good head of water. In the
meantime it was found that an explosive mixture had
accumulated on the inbye and rise side of the fire, and
a certain amount of air was allowed to pass in order to
prevent the gas reaching the fire. The fire was not
completely extinguished until January 20, and the
standing gas was then cleared away in nine hours. An
investigation showed that the fire had extended for a
length of over 40 yds., and had burnt out the wheel
framing and roof timbers, causing heavy falls of roof.
The origin of the fire is entirely a matter of conjecture.
The haulage rope ceased running about 2 p.m. on

Saturday, and a miner passing beneath the wheel an
hour afterwards did not notice anything amiss. The
rope wheel sometimes got hot, and the brake consisted
of two cast segments lined with copper. In addition,
there was a wood-lined brake, which could be used in
case of emergency, and both brakes were pinned down
at the close of each shift. It is possible the fire n ay
have been due to heating of the wheel footstep, causing
fine coal dust to become ignited, which was afterwards
fanned into flame by the air current. All wooden
frames for haulage wheels have since been superseded by
iron ones, and a new type of footstep with a more
efficient method of lubrication has been adopted. An
underground fire was caused by the defective explosion
of a charge of Permonite, but the flames were easily
extinguished. There were two cases of underground
fires owing to the friction of ropes and binding pulleys
setting fire to wooden frames. There were 39 cases
reported under the heading of breakage of winding
rope, chain, or other gear used for raising and lowering.
Of this large number, 20 were due to the breakage of
the slippers or clams which slide up and down the guide
rods and keep the cages in position. Owing to the
great depth of the shafts, quick running, and oscillation
of the cages, the slippers of the ascending cage some-
times come in contact at meetings with the slippers of
the descending cage. Such occurrences were practi-
cally confined to one colliery, and the trouble has now
been overcome by fixing additional guide rods. There
were nine cases of minor breakages of some portion of
the winding engines; three cases of breakage of wind-
ing ropes; three breakages of guide ropes; and two cases
of breakage of cage chains. There were two cases of
overwinding when persons were being raised or lowered,
and one inrush of water from old workings into a sink-
ing pit.

Prosecutions.—No legal proceedings were instituted
against owners, agents, or managers during the year.
The total number of prosecutions of workmen by rvners
amounted to 69, as compared with 25 in the previous
year, and 75 in 1911. The total amount of penalties
inflicted was <£50 16s., and the costs in connection with
them amounted to £>36 8s. 6d. Compared with last
year, the average amount of penalties and costs show a
slight increase, the average amount being £1 5s., as
against £1 3s. 4d. in 1912. There were 46 contraven-
tions of section 35 dealing with the provisions against
being in possession of matches, tobacco, pipes, and
cigarettes, the penalties amounting to £31 10s. 6d., and
the costs to £22 9s. The number of such breaches is
more than three times the number reported for last year,
and no doubt the increase is very largely due to the
stricter method of searching now in operation.

Coal Mines Act.—The principal provisions of the Coal
Mines Act, 1911, having now been in operation for a
period of 18 months, the numerous and important
changes which it introduced are better understood by
officials and workmen, and a genuine attempt has been
made to carry out the Act in its entirety. Considerable
delay in complying with some of the provisions has in
a few cases been unavoidable, as it has been impossible
to obtain delivery of appliances, apparatus, and neces-
sary material, owing to the sudden demand being greater
than the manufacturers could supply. The special
rules which were established under the Coal Mines
Regulation Act, 1887, remained in force until superseded
by the new General Regulations dated July 10, 1913,
which came into operation on September 15 of the same
year.

Fourteen examinations for firemen’s and shot-firers’
certificates have been held at different centres. The
total number of persons examined was 507, of whom 94
failed.

The search of workmen is now thoroughly carried out
on the lines mentioned in last year’s report, and except
in a few isolated cases the searching is done at the
shaft bottom. At first the management at a few col-
lieries did not arrange for the searchers being searched
before they commenced operations, but it is now
definitely understood that it is not sufficient that the
workmen have the option of searching if they think fit,
and the requirements of section 35 (3) are now complied
with, inasmuch as the persons appointed to search are
first of all searched by two of the workmen. That
searching is very necessary is shown by the number of
contraventions of section 35.

The sampling of mine air has been continued, and was
practically completed at the end of the year. Many of
the mines which gave the worst results, although well
inside the requirements of section 29, have been sampled
a second time. During the year 440 samples have been
taken and analysed, and where it was necessary to
repeat the sampling at any particular mine, it was
interesting to note the gradual improvement in the
results. Of the 440 samples taken, 198 were intake air
samples taken within 100 yds. of the face of the first
working place. Samples of return air to the number of
237 were taken. Three were taken at the face under
section 60 (2); one under section 67 (2); and one taken
in a main return at the time of an underground fire.
In six mines the percentage of methane in the intake
air was found to exceed | per cent, on the first analysis,
necessitating further sampling, and the subsequent
results showed that the necessary improvement had
been effected so as to bring the air current under the
definition of “ normally free.” No sample of air con-
tained as much as 1 per cent, of carbon dioxide, the
highest amount being j per cent. The section providing
for adequate means for reversing the air current came
into operation on January 1, 1913, and by that date at
the majority of mines ventilated by mechanical con-
trivances, existing fans had been altered, new ones
installed, or steam jets fixed up, whereby the reversal
of the air could be effected. At several mines the
delivery of new ventilators was considerably delayed,
and it was only towards the close of the year that every
mine could be said to have complied with section 31 (3).
At many mines, especially where steam jets have been