522

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

September 10, 1915.

from a pick. A specimen of the roof rock when tested
with a pick gave off heavy rushes of sparks, dull red in
colour, and of sufficient density to look like a thin cord
of flame, the length at times being almost 18 in. The
third case occurred on June 1 in the Main coal seam,
Giffnock Colliery, owned by Messrs, the Giffnock
Collieries Limited, and it would seem that gas contained
in a breaker had been ignited by a blown-out shot.
Tests were subsequently made to ascertain at what
pressure firedamp was contained in the coal with the
result that, taking into consideration the fact that the
mine was not subject to blowers or sudden outbursts of
firedamp, the pressure was not found to be such as to
preclude the use of bobbinite. The lack of ordinary
discipline and miner-like methods is very striking in con-
nection with these explosions. For instance, no less
than three were due to firemen using naked lights in
addition to the safety lamps when making inspections;
three to persons entering places before they had been
inspected by a fireman; one to an incompetent and
uncertificated person being employed as fireman; three to
firemen allowing persons to go to work with naked lights
in places where they knew gas was present; two to
perfunctory inspections by firemen prior to commencing
work; one to a miner putting his naked light up to a
breaker after the flame of a safety lamp had been
extinguished at the same point by gas; three to brattice
sheets being deliberately deranged and not repaired; 14
to working near faults or whin dykes with naked lights;
and six occurred in places where the ventilation was
deranged or no proper steps had been taken to supply an
adequate amount.

Twenty notices were also received during the year
under notice of cases of explosions of gas where no
persons were injured; 16 being caused by naked lights;
two by shot firing; one by electricity; and one by a
defective safety lamp.

Falls of Roof and Sides.—Of the 65 fatal accidents,
51 occurred at the working face; six on roads while
repairing or enlarging; and eight on roads while other-
wise working or passing. The number of deaths from
these accidents, viz., 67, is 48'55 per cent, of the total
number of deaths from all causes below ground during
the year. Five of the fatal accidents occurred in shale
mines, and one in a fireclay mine; the remaining 59
occurred in coal mines. An analysis of the fatal
accidents which occurred at the face shows that 52 per
cent, occurred as holing was being done or coal being
got, and 28 per cent, as timber was being set. Mr.
Walker is not satisfied that the requirements of section
50, sub-section 1, of the Coal Mines Act, 1911, have
received from the managers of mines sufficient attention.
The requirements of this sub-section to which he thinks
it is necessary attention should be drawn is that con-
tained in the words, “ the roof under which the work of

. . . filling tubs is carried on shall be systematically
and adequately supported . . .” That part of the
mine where tubs are filled is occupied by some person
for a large proportion of each shift, and is therefore
a part where strict attention should be paid to the
support of the roof.

Mr. Walker adds : “ It would appear that the manager
of each mine should approach the question from the
standpoint of safety and no other. He can and should
consult with his officials and then plan his rules to
comply with the requirements of section 50, and the
circumstances of the case. I would suggest that every
manager should, in the light of past events, carefully
consider whether he has framed the best rules and dis-
tances in regard to supports to be given to the roof and
sides. He should supply each overman and fireman
with a copy of the notice posted at the pithead in
reference to supports, and should require from his
officials constant and efficient supervision, and from his
workmen strict obedience to the rules he himself has
framed, and a faithful co-operation with a view to
overcome what is the most fruitful source of accident.
The duties of a fireman are now such as should enable
him to see without difficulty that the supports required
by the manager to be set are set, and he should, without
fear or favour, report each case to the manager in which
there is the least dereliction from his requirements. I
think the manager who requires absolute obedience to
his orders will be found to be the manager of mines at
which the fewest accidents occur, and his attitude, if
properly understood, would be acknowledged by the men
to be one of anxiety to save them from accident and no
other.”

Shaft Accidents.—Ten of the 13 fatal accidents were
due to a want of ordinary care and caution. At some
shafts there is an arrangement by which the gates
fencing the top cannot be opened until the winding
engineman has released a catch. This arrangement is
good so far as it goes, but once open there is nothing to
cause the gates to be closed, the catch then being
inoperative. It has been necessary for more than one
inspector to have to ask for the keps to be put under
the cage before entering. On two occasions this has
been Mr. Walker’s own experience.

Miscellaneous Underground Accidents. —It would be
difficult to find clearer instances of the utter disregard
of ordinary common precautions than those afforded by
the circumstances attending some of the deaths in con-
nection with explosives. There were nine accidents,
causing nine deaths; six accidents were due to breaches
of the Explosives in Coal Mines Order, and the remain-
ing three would have been avoided had the persons killed
not been blind to obvious danger.

An accident occurred on December 28 in the Maxwell
Colliery, owned by Messrs, the Killochan Coal Company
Limited, owing to an inrush of water into the face of a
level in the Main coal seam. At present, as the water
has not all been pumped out, it is difficult to say where
it had come from, in view of the fact that no one has any
knowledge of any workings into which the level could
hole. The nearest known old workings in any seam
were 350 ft. distant. When the water is pumped out,

which will be at an early date, an inspection will be made
to endeavour to ascertain the cause of the irruption.

A perusal of the details in regard to haulage accidents
shows that had the discipline been better, or a little
more forethought exercised, a great many of the 21 fatal
accidents would not have happened.

The one accident and death attributed to an electric
shock occurred on December 15 in the West Mine, Dun-
donald Colliery, owned by Messrs, the Lochgelly Iron
and Coal Company Limited. In the Little Splint seam,
in a lye, known as Henderson’s lye, there was a four-
way box, from which two coal cutters and a small pump
were supplied with alternating current at 500 volts. The
fourth way was not in use. The box was hung on stan-
dards to suit the incoming main cable and the three
outgoing cables. It was very heavy, and strongly made,
with a lid weighing about 1 cwt. hinged at the top. One
person could not hold the lid open and at the same time
insert or draw fuses; either a second person was neces-
sary, or the lid had to be propped up. It would appear
that the lid had been propped up. When a coal-cutting
shift was finished, it was a practice for the machinemen
not only to switch off the current at the gate-end box,
but also to draw the fuses in the box above mentioned.
On the morning of the accident, about 6.30, the man
w’ho was killed was on his way out-bye. He was found
lying at the side of the box with the fingers of one hand
touching the bottom flange. The lid of the box had
apparently been opened, but had fallen partly shut, and
was held from closing by a sleeper which had to all
appearance been used as a prop. Mr. J. Masterton,
senior inspector, found that the sleeper was damp and
greasy, and there was a mark inside the lid as if it had
slipped there. One of the fuses of the pump circuit
immediately under the end of the sleeper was pressed
out of position, the knife edge of it was twisted, and
the corresponding spring which should receive it was
spread : the protecting insulating shield inside the box
was bruised at the hole which the knife edge had been
in. Two of the fuses on the coal cutter circuit were
drawn and lying in position, the third was only partly
drawn, and it appeared as if the door slipped when he
was just about to draw this fuse. Suppose this had
occurred, the man would receive a very severe blow at
the base of the skull. His chance, however, of receiving
an electric shock even when being knocked forward and
down was small, and his fingers would require to get
through one of two in. spaces between the insulating
shields which were purposely to prevent accidental con-
tact. The fuses themselves were of the tubular porce-
lain type, with insulating protection outside the hand
grips to prevent accidental contact with live parts.
Suppose the man did come into contact with a live part,
the voltage he would receive would be 290 volts. Mr.
W. E. T. Hartley, who, on Mr. R. Nelson, the electrical
inspector of mines, joining the Army, -was appointed to
carry on the inspection duties in connection with the use
of electricity in mines in the Nos. 1 and 2 Mines Inspec-
tion Divisions, also made inspection of the plant, and
he reported that there were three points where a shock
might have been received, but only by very consider-
able carelessness. The ebonite tubes on the fuse holders
were secured by two small round-headed screws. These
heads were live when in use, and a hand placed outside
the porcelain could touch one of them; again, with a
fuse holder half-drawn it was possible to lift a finger
over the protecting flange of porcelain, and touch the
blade of the holder which would still be live. The third
point was the line work behind the protected shield.
This could be got at deliberately with ease, but by no
chance when withdrawing a fuse. The most probable
place for an von e to get a shock was the small screw
mentioned above, and the contact would be made by the
fourth finger of the right hand: after that the blade of the
fuse, which would be touched by the same finger. In
either case, however, more than ordinary carelessness
was needed. A port-mortem examination was made,
when it was found that there were no visible bruises on
the body, but there were two little blisters on deceased’s
hand, one on his little finger, and the other on his ring
finger; several unusual conditions in the heart and brain
were revealed. There was nothing about the head or
neck to show that he had received a blow. The valves of
the heart controlling the delivery of the blood to the
aorta were malformed; this defect probably being con-
genital, and being a well-known condition, though not
a common one. This lobe of the heart was as a result
enlarged. The conditions were such that an electric
shock might easily cause death, though, on the other
hand, death might occur without any such stimulus.
It was not probable that a blow, such as from the falling
of the door of distribution box. would determine death
in this case where the man was accustomed to pit work.
Deciding on the balance of probabilities, the case has
been classified as one due to electricity. One accident
occurred whilst an unauthorised person was replacing a
fuse: the second was the result of a man. a fireman,
taking off the outer glass of a lamp fitting, removing the
lamp bulb, and attaching an old length of twin cable,
which had been out of use two years, to the circuit.
The twin cable was faulty, and the fireman received a
shock which might easily have been a fatal one, the
voltage of the alternating current being 500. The third
case would appear to have been the result of using
cables of German manufacture of poor quality. The
voltage of the circuit was 500: the system concentric.
A brush er was placing loose stones in the waste, and had
his hand over the cable, when, without him touching it
or moving it in any way, flame burst from it. and burned
his arm. It was the practice of the owners of the collierv
to buy cable in half-mile lengths: the length from -which
the piece which failed was taken had not given satis-
faction previously. This experience corroborates the
injured man’s statement that he had not touched or
injured the cable in any way.

Nine fatal accidents, with nine deaths, were caused by
machinery during the year; seven of them occurred in

connection with the working of coal-cutting machines.
Several were due to machines springing out towards the
waste from the coal face, or “ kicking out,” as it is
commonly called. The inspectors and sub-inspectors,
who have intimate knowledge of the working of coal-
cutting machines in the Division, state that there are
also a large number of cases within their knowledge
where disc machines have sprung out, luckily without
injury to any person. Such springing out of a machine
almost invariably occurs at the beginning of a cut, and
is the result of making a machine cut or ” eat ” its way
into the holing, instead of providing a stable cut ahead
of the line of face at each end of the machine travel, in
order that the machine may be set in line with the face
before beginning to cut. To ” eat ” into the coal facm
a machine is set at a sharp angle to the face line, with
the disc close to the front of the coal to be holed. The
haulage rope is then set with a short pull, and the
machine is forced to its work by props or ” stells ” l^t
into the floor or roof. The props, although to all
appearance well set and in sufficient number, may prove
quite unable to withstand the extraordinary strain
thrown upon them, amounting probably to the full
40-horse power of some machines, and the machine
sweeps them out, pivots round on the pick points, which
are stuck against the coal, and, thus freed, jumps back
towards the waste, at the same time swinging round
bodily in an arc. This action, when it does occur, takes
place so suddenly that the man at the switch or air
valve, as the case may be, has no time to get out of the
way, and is caught by the revolving disc. As a preven-
tion from this, it is the practice in some collieries to
leave a buttress of coal projecting 3 ft. at the ends of
the machine travel, but that this is not effective is
evident from the fact that one of the non-fatal accidents
last year occurred where there was such a buttress, and
in this case it was merely by chance the machineman
was not cut to pieces. One cure for such accidents is
the cutting of stables by hand in advance of the face
so that the machine at each end of its cut may be put
right into line and begin cutting with the strain thrown
on the disc at the proper point of its periphery, viz., the
part next the direction in which the machine is to travel,
and not at the point furthest from the machine body. The
habit of doing without stables in machine work is wide-
spread. It costs more to make stables, and it also means
that the machine has to be set forward to its work by
manual labour, instead of using the motive power of the
machine. The cost, however, is not prohibitive, nor such
as to hinder coal-cutting even in the thinnest seams, for
the cutting of stables in 19 in. seams under very wet
conditions is done daily in more than one colliery,
because the managers are alive to the dangers from
machines springing out. Another fruitful source of
accident with coal-cutting machines is the revolving of
the discs or bars otherwise than by hand when the
“ picks ” or cutters are being changed.

Two fatalities occurred in the Niddrie Colliery, owned
by Messrs, the Niddrie and Benhar Coal Company
Limited, where the seams are very steep. In the first
case, two youths went into an incline to re-set a prop
which had become loose. The boy killed lost his foot-
ing, the incline dipped at an angle of 70degs., and fell
some 360 ft. on to the cage. In the second case, in a
similar place, a youth leaned out of the mouth of the
level, and was hammering (“ chapping ”) on the rails
in the incline, when he overbalanced, and fell down the
incline, a distance of 180 ft. Neither of these accidents
should have happened. In the first case, a fireman or
roadsman should have been sent for; and in the second,
there should have been no necessity for the youth to
lean out of the level. When repair or other similar work
is being done on these steep inclines some precaution,
such as wearing a safety belt, should be taken by the
persons doing the work.

On the Surface.—One fatal accident by electricity,
causing the death of one person, and three non-fatal
accidents causing injury to three persons occurred during
riie year. The fatal accident occurred at Polmaise
Colliery, owned by Messrs. Archibald Russell Limited.
An underground motor attendant, just prior to
descending into the mine at 3 p.m., handed to a boy,
a lamp cleaner, a box of matches and a cigarette, asking
him to hide them for him and suggesting that they be
put on the top of the switch board in the lamp room.
The boy hid the articles in the place suggested, the man
in charge of the lamp room not being present at the
moment. The motor attendant came out of the mine a
little earlier than usual, all the coal having been got
out, and going into the lamp room, climbed up on to
a cast iron bench and reached for the cigarette and
matches placed on the top of the switchboard. His foot
slipped on the bench, and his left hand came in contact
with the fuse terminals. ■ At the time of the accident
electricity was being supplied in the form of three-phase
current, 550 volts pressure, with the neutral point
earthed. A motor generator in the lamp room, used for
charging accumulators, had its bed plate properly
earthed, as were also other parts of the plant. The fuse
terminals and ammeter were 7 ft. from the ground, and
were thus out of reach except by direct intention. Of
the three non-fatal accidents, one, which occurred at
Barony Colliery, owned by Messrs. Wm. Baird and
Company Limited, is of interest as it shows the casual
manner in which electricity is used for temporary
purposes of lighting. Apparatus for the prevention of
over-winding was in course of being installed in con-
nection with the winding engines by contractors. To
obtain sufficient light under the floor of No. 1 engine
house an electric lamp was attached by means of dis-
carded shot-firing cable to two bare terminals of a
portable lamp circuit. Under the floor of the No. 2
engine house the rubber-covered cable of a portable lamp
circuit was split open, the wires bared and an attach-
ment made. When the engineers had finished the work
under the floor of No. 2 engine house, they moved the
shot-firing cable and lamp from there to No. 1 engine