The Monongah mining disaster of
Monongah,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
occurred on December 6, 1907, and has been described as "the worst mining disaster in American history." 362 miners were killed. The explosion occurred in Fairmont Coal Company’s No. 6 and No. 8 mines, and was one of the contributing events leading to the creation of the
United States Bureau of Mines
For most of the 20th century, the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral ...
.
The disaster
On Friday, December 6, 1907, there were officially 420 men in the two mines, although the actual number was much higher as officially registered workers often took their children and other relatives into the mine to help. At 10:28 AM, an explosion occurred in one section of the mine, followed by a larger explosion in another area,
instantly killing most of those inside. The blast caused considerable damage to both the mine and the surface. The ventilation systems, necessary to keep fresh air supplied to the mine, were destroyed, along with many railcars and other equipment. The entrance and ventilation fan of No. 8 mine were destroyed, "but did little damage to No. 6 slope."
Inside the mine the timbers supporting the roof were blown down, which caused further problems as the roof collapsed. An official cause of the explosion was not determined, but investigators at the time believed that an electrical spark or one of the miners' open flame lamps ignited coal dust or methane gas.
[
]
Rescue attempts
The first volunteer rescuers entered the two mines twenty-five minutes after the initial explosion. The biggest threats to rescuers were the fumes, particularly “blackdamp
Blackdamp (also known as stythe or choke damp) is an asphyxiant, reducing the available oxygen content of air to a level incapable of sustaining human or animal life. It is not a single gas but a mixture of unbreathable gases left after oxygen is ...
”, a mix of carbon dioxide and nitrogen that contains no oxygen, and “whitedamp
Whitedamp is a noxious mixture of gases formed by the combustion of coal, usually in an enclosed environment such as a coal mine. The main, most toxic constituent is carbon monoxide, which causes carbon monoxide poisoning. Hydrogen sulfide, also ca ...
”, which is carbon monoxide. The lack of breathing apparatus at the time made venturing into these areas impossible. Rescuers could only stay in the mine for 15 minutes at a time. In a vain effort to protect themselves, some of the miners tried to cover their faces with jackets or other pieces of cloth. While this might have been able to filter out particulate matter, it would not have been able to protect the miners in an oxygen-free environment.
The toxic fume problems were compounded by the infrastructural damage caused by the initial explosion: mines require large ventilation fans to prevent toxic gas buildup, and the explosion at Monongah had destroyed all of the ventilation equipment in No. 8 mine and disabled the fan in No. 6 mine. Rescuers were eventually able to reconnect No. 6 fan,[ but the inability to clear the mine of gases further delayed and complicated rescue and recovery efforts.
One Polish miner was rescued, and four Italian miners escaped. The official death toll stood at 362, 171 of them Italian migrants. Others killed in the disaster included Russians, Greeks, and immigrant workers from ]Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. 216 women were widowed, and the miners left behind 475 children, with a further 31 born after the disaster.
As a result of the explosion along with other disasters, the public began demanding additional oversight to help regulate the mines. In 1910 Congress created the United States Bureau of Mines
For most of the 20th century, the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral ...
, with the goal of investigating and inspecting mines to reduce explosions and to limit the waste of human and natural resources. In addition, the Bureau of Mines set up field officers that would train mine crews, provide rescue services, and investigate disasters.
Memorials
In 2003, to commemorate the explosion, the Italian commune of San Giovanni in Fiore
San Giovanni in Fiore (; nap, label= Calabrian, Sangiuvanni ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.
The town originates from the Florense Abbey, built here by the Calabrian monk Joachim of ...
, from which many of the miners had emigrated, erected a memorial to those killed in the disaster.
In 2007, the Monongah Heroine, a statue dedicated to the miners' widows, was unveiled. The monument was erected due to the efforts of Father Joseph Briggs, a local Catholic priest and historian of the Monongah disaster.
In 2007, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the explosion, the Italian region of Molise
Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...
presented a bell to the town of Monongah. Today the bell sits in the Monongah town square.
In 2009, the President of the Italian Republic
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
, conferred the Order of Merit for Labour
The Order of Merit for Labour ( it, Ordine al Merito del Lavoro) is an Italian order of chivalry that was founded in 1923 by King Vittorio Emanuele III. It is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and ...
( it, Ordine al Merito del Lavoro) upon the victims of the disaster.
Relief fund
After the disaster, the Monongah Mine Relief Committee was established in order to provide aid to those affected by the event. Two subcommittees were set up within this organization: the Executive Committee, in charge of raising national awareness about the disaster; and the Subscription Committee, in charge of receiving and directing aid to survivors and miners' families.
Others involved in relief efforts included industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
, whose Hero Fund provided relief to the survivors of those killed during rescue and recovery works. The Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
dispatched a special representative, Margaret F. Byington, to assist with gathering information on the survivors in order to coordinate relief efforts.
Aftermath
Although subsequent investigations were unable to uncover the true cause of the explosions, the severity of the disaster provoked a public outcry in favor of stronger safety regulations and public oversight of mines.[ One notable feature of the Monongah mining complex was that Nos. 6 and 8 mines were connected by a shaft in order to allow both mines to be ventilated from one entrance. This had the effect of placing those in both mines at risk, in the event of an accident. Even after this infrastructural flaw came to light, the Fairmont Coal Company did not disconnect the two mines. Other problems included the use of mechanical and electrical equipment and a failure to adequately water haulways in order to settle dust or to install more adequate dust removal systems.]
See also
* Smith Mine disaster
*Argonaut Mine
The Argonaut Mine is a gold mine in Jackson, California, United States. The deposit was discovered 1850 and was the site of the worst gold-mining disaster in the state's history. The mine closed in 1942 and, along with the nearby Kennedy Mine, i ...
* Coal mining disasters in United States
*Treadwell Gold Mine
The Treadwell gold mine was on the south side of Douglas Island, east of downtown Douglas and southeast of downtown Juneau, owned and operated by John Treadwell. Composed of four sub-sites, Treadwell was in its time the largest hard rock gold ...
References
External links
"Italians arrive to honor immigrants killed in 1907 Monongah mine blast:Remembering their countrymen"
December 5, 2007, by Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
''Monongah Remembered''--a movie by Argentine Productions (Pittsburgh, PA)
RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana
– Special programme by Gerardo Greco
Gerardo Greco (born January 13, 1966) is an Italian journalist.
Biography
Gerardo Greco graduated from LUISS Guido Carli university in Rome. He then went on to study at the school of Radio and Television Journalism in Perugia, Italy. He debut ...
of Italian Television for ''TG2 Dossier Storie''. In Italian.
"Bell from Italy to toll in Monongah"
November 28, 2007, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration
''Monongah. La Marcinelle americana''
– a film on the tragedy by Silvano Console. In Italian.
*Norberto Lombardi, ''Monongah 1907. Una tragedia dimenticata''., a book in Italian from Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007.
History.com Article.
{{Authority control
Coal mining disasters in West Virginia
1907 disasters in the United States
1907 mining disasters
1907 in West Virginia
Marion County, West Virginia
December 1907 events
Italian-American history