Experimental Mine, U.S. Bureau of Mines is a landmark located in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

suburb of

Bruceton, Pennsylvania Bruceton is an unincorporated suburb of Pittsburgh within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan region. Its western half is part of South Park Township and its eastern half is part of J ...

. In 1910, the newly created U.S. Bureau of Mines leased a 38-acre tract of land from the Pittsburgh Coal Company and opened the Experimental Mine. One of the early findings in the Experimental Mine demonstrated that coal dust by itself was capable of propagating an explosion even in the absence of any methane gas. This demonstration was contrary to the old belief widely held at the time that coal dust could not explode without gas. This view had led to the very dangerous and widespread practice of using loose coal dust in mines to pack explosives in boreholes, which had cost many thousands of lives. These early experiments clearly proved that such a practice was too hazardous to continue.

Current facilities

By 1999 the complex made the transition to lab and office space as part of the

National Energy Technology Laboratory The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is a U.S national laboratory under the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy. NETL focuses on applied research for the clean production and use of domestic energy resources. NETL perform ...

network throughout the United States. The complex is home to three major agencies including the Federal Energy Technology Center (U.S. Department of Energy), the

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the C ...

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control), and the Mine Safety & Health Administration (U.S. Department of Labor). Over one thousand government and contractor employees worked at the site by 2000.

References

External links

C-SPAN program on the mine

Current facilities

See also

References

External links

Further reading