1968 – Nov 20, Consolidated #9 coal mine explosions (unknown cause), Farmington WV-78

lornajarrettblanchard November 20, 1968

— 78 Cole, Jesse P. “History of MSHA,” Slide 15

— 78 Dillon, Lacy A. They Died in Darkness. Parsons, WV: McClain Printing, 1976, p. 271.

— 78 History.com. This Day in Disaster History, Disaster, Nov 20, 1968. “Explosions…”

— 78 Mine Safety and Health Administration, DOL. Historical Data on Mine Disasters... 2008.

— 78 MSHA. “Mine Disaster: 1968 Farmington Explosion Anniversary.” Dept. of Labor.[1]

— 78 NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969,

— 78 Nieto and Duerksen. “The Effects of Mine Safety Legislation…” 2008, p. 97.

— 78 WV Division of Culture and History. “Nov 20, 1968: The Farmington Mine Disaster.”

Narrative Information

Dillon: “When the explosion roared out of the earth at about 5:30 Wednesday morning, red flames mixed with black smoke shot high into the overcast sky at both the Lewellyn and Mod’s Run portals, the two eruptions coming simultaneously…. The intense heat from the Lewellyn portal set the automobiles belonging to the men inside the mine on fire. The fire department at Mannington was summoned at once but was to no avail….

“After…rescue of…twenty-one men, conditions inside the mine worsened. Ensuing explosions^[2] and increasing smoke and flames belched intermittently from the portals…. Families in the nearby communities were constantly peppered by falling ash and soot. Occasionally the ground would tremble from another explosion….

“A terrific blast, unbelievable in its intensity, blew the twenty-ton slab from atop the Mod’s Run shaft, hurling it two hundred feet through the air… By this time smoke was pouring from five of the eleven openings…” (Dillon 1976, pp. 271-279)

“After an explosion tore through Consolidation Coal Company’s Number 9 mine in Farmington, there was still hope that miners trapped below ground found a way to survive….The evening of the explosion, William Poundstone, a Consol vice president, said rescue efforts couldn’t be mounted right away because of the fire.

Poundstone: We expect no major developments during the night simply because we must wait until the flames die down. Our best estimate is that at least 70 miners are still trapped inside the mine. We do have on hand the best and most skilled mine rescue teams that are available in the country. They are standing by. But we feel that at this time we cannot send them in to commence rescue operations because of the fire.

“Seventy-eight men died, either by fire, suffocation, or lack of rescue.

“It is difficult and confusing for the reader to understand all the intricacies of this holocaust because of the giganticness of it all. First, the mine entries between the two farthest openings ran a distance of seven miles underground. The subterranean entries and haul ways ran hither and yon for fifteen miles. In addition, vast areas were worked out and pillar-robbed in this big Pittsburgh Seam since the initial mining began here about the turn of the century….The entire working area of the mine covered up to forty-eight square miles when the last explosion in 1968 happened. This wide expanse, encompassing so many underground tunnels and working rooms, left hope that survivors had gotten away from the fire and blackdamp [poisonous gases] and barricaded themselves off from danger. The explosion, at first affected only about two square miles of the mine; however, the blast occurred in the part where the entire ninety men were working….

“Finally, after a few days of conjecture, two rescue teams of six men each, readied to enter the mine from one of the non-smoking portals….After about four hours of searching and penetrating to nearly four thousand feet, they encountered considerable CO gas and enough methane to blow the mine again. In other parts of the mine, during their probing, there came occasional ‘puffs’ from slight explosions…. After relaying the news of their findings to the surface, officials ordered them to come to the outside. No other squads reentered the mine at anytime during the tragedy. The fate of the entombed men was an evident reality.

“John Corcoran, president of Consolidation Coal Company, met with other officials of the company in the office rooms in the rear of the company store, near the No. 9 processing plant on James Fork, and made their final decision. They concluded that all seventy-eight were dead, and that the mine must be sealed in the same manner as it was back in 1954 when sixteen men were caught inside while a fire raged out of control….

“After ten harrowing days, fifteen major explosions and four minor ones, the Farmington Mine sealing on Saturday morning, the last day of November 1968, was completed.” (Dillon 1976, pp. 271-279.)

Nieto and Duerksen: The Consol No. 9 disaster “prompted the government to investigate production practices in the industry and consider passing a new mining law. Prior to this time, safety requirements and their enforcement were the responsibility of the states. As a result, the purpose of the Coal Act was, first, to create a means to both significantly improve and effectively enforce coal mining safety laws, and second, to standardize these laws and regulations at a federal level…” (Nieto and Duerksen 2008, 97.)

WV: “The existence of today’s Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is due, in large part, to the Farmington mine disaster.” (WV Div. Culture and History. Farmington Mine Disaster”)

Cole: Congress passes the 1969 the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act:

Inspection provisions of both surface and underground coal mines.
2 annual inspections of surface mines, 4 annual inspections of surface mines, 4 annual inspections of underground mines.
Increase enforcement powers.
Monetary penalties and criminal penalties established.
Established black lung compensation for disabilities due to the disease. (Cole. History of MSHA, slide 17)

Cole: Farmington is less than five miles from the site of the Monongah mine disaster. (Cole, History of MSHA, slide 16)

Nieto and Duerksen: “The new law created the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration (MESA) to enforce the codes and regulations. State organizations did not have enough personnel, authority, or funding to adequately enforce safety laws. This gave MESA a special role as an organization with enough power and authority to fully enforce the codes and institute a genuine health and safety reform in the coal industry at a national level.

“A detailed system of fines and penalties for violations was established to discourage laborers and managers from acting unsafely and endangering themselves and their co-workers. Additionally, criminal consequences were instituted for willful violations. The act provided a means of compensation for miners severely affected by long-term health related ailments such as pneumoconiosis, or ‘Black Lung’ disease. Two annual inspections for all surface coal mines and four for all underground operations became a mandatory occurrence. A series of compulsory educational and training programs for new and current miners, including annual retraining, was also created. Finally, an exhaustive set of specific regulations was established to control unsafe practices in all areas of mining.

“In general, the immediate results of this act were positive. The only serious negative consequence was the dramatically heightened costs suddenly imposed on all mine operators (Hartman and Mutmansky, 2002). The industry eventually accepted the costs as an inherent part of coal mining, realizing that in addition to their duty to keep their workers safe, higher annual costs are far less damaging than mine accidents and fatalities. Overall, the added safety procedures have improved mining efficiency, worker contentment and consequently production.” (Nieto and Duerksen 2008, 97.)

Sources:

Cole, Jesse P. (MSHA District 4 Manager). “History of MSHA,” Leadership Intensive Course Mine Safety and Health Administration. No date. 48 slides. Accessed 1-11-2009 at: http://www.usmra.com/repository/category/mining/modified_History_of_MSHA.ppt#256,1

Dillon, Lacy A. They Died in Darkness. Parsons, WV: McClain Printing Co., 1976.

History.com. This Day in Disaster History, Disaster, November 20, 1968. “Explosions Rock West Virginia Coal Mine.” Accessed 11/25/2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=11/20&categoryId=disaster

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Historical Data on Mine Disasters in the United States. Arlington, VA: MSHA, U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed October 5, 2008 at: http://www.msha.gov/MSHAINFO/FactSheets/MSHAFCT8.HTM

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). “Mine Disaster: 1968 Farmington Explosion Anniversary.” Arlington, VA: MSHA, U.S. Department of Labor. Webpage accessed 2-21-2020 at: https://www.msha.gov/mine-disaster-1968-farmington-explosion-anniversary

National Fire Protection Association. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, pp. 12-14.

Nieto, Antonio and Alek Duerksen. “The Effects of Mine Safety Legislation on Mining Technology in the USA.” International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2008, pp. 95-103.

West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Time Trail, West Virginia. “November 20, 1968: Farmington Mine Disaster.” At: http://www.wvculture.org/history/timetrl/ttnov.html#1120

[1] “…the cause of the explosion [first explosion] was never determined…”

[2] Fifteen separate explosions in all. (Cole. History of MSHA, Slide 15)