We talk about safety first, but do we really mean it?
In the early 1900's the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company placed a sign at the entrance to the Baltimore No. 2 tunnel in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The sign said, "Safety First" in large, white letters. At 6:40 AM on June 5, 1919 an explosion in the Baltimore No. 2 tunnel killed more than 90 miners and injured many others.
The online edition of Plant Safety Magazine has an article that points out that safety is more than lip service. I'm sure you've already heard this said many, many times before. We all know that if we don't walk-the-talk, then our words are meaningless. What I like about this article is that it provides real-life examples of safety problems and solutions. It's a safety article that provides practical, hands-on useful information, illustrating how both management and employees must walk-the-talk.
You can read the article at: http://www.plantservices.com/articles/2007/189.html?page=3
What happened on June 5, 1919 to cause that tragedy? The Fort Wayne News and Sentinel reported the workers had just entered the mine on a train:
"The train was drawn by a motor. The rear car carried 12 kegs of black powder used for blasting loose the coal in the chambers. The trolley wire snapped when the train had gone about 200 feet from the entrance to the mine. The wire sputtered and the sparks it emitted touched off the powder.
There was a roar and in an instant every man and boy on the train was either dead or dying. Mangled bodies were found everywhere by the rescue crews which instantly rushed into the mine. Firemen quickly put out the flames which followed the blast. Violation of mine laws of the state caused the loss of life. One of the most drastic provisions of the anthracite mine code is the section forbidding the transportation of men on a car or train which carries explosives. Yet the train of little cars conveying its freight of miners had attached to its rear a car with a dozen kegs of powder."
In the early 1900's the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company placed a sign at the entrance to the Baltimore No. 2 tunnel in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The sign said, "Safety First" in large, white letters. At 6:40 AM on June 5, 1919 an explosion in the Baltimore No. 2 tunnel killed more than 90 miners and injured many others.
The online edition of Plant Safety Magazine has an article that points out that safety is more than lip service. I'm sure you've already heard this said many, many times before. We all know that if we don't walk-the-talk, then our words are meaningless. What I like about this article is that it provides real-life examples of safety problems and solutions. It's a safety article that provides practical, hands-on useful information, illustrating how both management and employees must walk-the-talk.
You can read the article at: http://www.plantservices.com/articles/2007/189.html?page=3
What happened on June 5, 1919 to cause that tragedy? The Fort Wayne News and Sentinel reported the workers had just entered the mine on a train:
"The train was drawn by a motor. The rear car carried 12 kegs of black powder used for blasting loose the coal in the chambers. The trolley wire snapped when the train had gone about 200 feet from the entrance to the mine. The wire sputtered and the sparks it emitted touched off the powder.
There was a roar and in an instant every man and boy on the train was either dead or dying. Mangled bodies were found everywhere by the rescue crews which instantly rushed into the mine. Firemen quickly put out the flames which followed the blast. Violation of mine laws of the state caused the loss of life. One of the most drastic provisions of the anthracite mine code is the section forbidding the transportation of men on a car or train which carries explosives. Yet the train of little cars conveying its freight of miners had attached to its rear a car with a dozen kegs of powder."
Labels: Industrial Safety, safety
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