In the Centralia mine disaster on March 25, 1947, the Centralia No. 5

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

exploded near the town of

Centralia, Illinois Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Illinois with the largest portion in Marion County. The city is the largest in three of the counties; Clinton, Marion, and Washington, but is not a ...

, killing 111 people. The

Mine Safety and Health Administration The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) () is a large agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) to enforce compliance with mandatory safe ...

of the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

reported the explosion was caused when an underburdened shot or blown-out shot ignited

coal dust Coal dust is a fine powdered form of which is created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizing of coal. Because of the brittle nature of coal, coal dust can be created during mining, transportation, or by mechanically handling coal. It is a form ...

. The US Department of Labor lists the disaster as the second worst US mining disaster since 1940 with a total of 111 men dead.

Mine conditions

The mine had received numerous warnings about conditions prior to the explosion. At that time, 142 men were in the mine; 65 were killed by burns and other injuries and 45 were killed by

afterdamp Afterdamp is the toxic mixture of gases left in a mine following an explosion caused by methane-rich firedamp, which itself can initiate a much larger explosion of coal dust. The term is etymologically and practically related to other terms for u ...

. Eight men were rescued, but one died from the effects of afterdamp. Only 31 miners escaped.

In popular culture

American folksinger

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

wrote and recorded a song about the Centralia mine disaster entitled ''The Dying Miner.'' Guthrie's recording of the song is now available on the Smithsonian-Folkways recording ''Struggle'' (1990). Songwriter Bucky Halker rearranged this song and recorded it for his ''Welcome to Labor Land'' CD (Revolting Records, 2002), a collection of Halker's renditions of labor songs from Illinois. Halker also recorded his version of "New Made Graves of Centralia" for his CD ''Don't Want Your Millions'' (Revolting Records, 2000). Halker based his version on an original recording of this song in the Country Music Hall of Fame, but the author and recording artist were unknown. Along with ''The Dying Miner,'' Guthrie wrote two other songs regarding the 1947 disaster: "Waiting at the Gate" (from the perspective of a miner's son); and "Talking Centralia" (also known as "Talking Miner").

References

External links

"Centralia, Illinois, Mine № 5 (in Wamac, Illinois) Disaster of March 25, 1947"
in Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal, article written by Patricia Lofthouse, M.L.S. Edited by Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Public Sector Safety Professionals: Focused on Activity or Results?
Fred Fanning. Spring 2007.

Coal mining disasters in Illinois, Centralia mine disaster Centralia Mine disaster Washington County, Illinois Centralia mine disaster Centralia mine disaster 1947 disasters in the United States Labor movement in Illinois March 1947 events in the United States {{disaster-stub

Mine conditions

In popular culture

References

Further reading

External links