History 124
7 November 2012
Coal Power and the Upper Big Branch Mining Disaster Coal was a major energy source for the United States throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries during the Industrial Revolution (Yale.edu). Even though it was a major energy source, coal has caused many problems with the environment and the people of the United States. Many disasters have occurred because of the safety regulations of coal mines. The safety regulations and conditions of coal mines have caused harm to people through death and poverty and has caused harm to the environment through pollution of the air and water over the years. The history of where coal was mined can help us understand how a disaster can happen in West Virginia or anywhere else. Coal was first recorded in the United States in 1663-1664 (netl-history). The coal shows up on a map of the Illinois River (netl-hisoty). Then in 1701 coal was found on the James River (netl-history). The James River is now Richmond, Virginia (netl-history). Several “coal mines” were shown on a map of the upper Potomac River by 1736 (netl-history). The upper Potomac River is now the border of Maryland and West Virginia (netl-history). The first commercial coal production began in 1748 from mines around the Richmond, Virginia area (netl-hisotry). In the late 1700s coal was starting to be mined at Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (netl-history). Over time coal was discovered in many different locations. It was mainly discovered and mined along the east coast of the United States. Life in an area where coal was found profoundly changed the lives of the people in the area. Mining in the Appalachia Mountains dates back to the beginning of the coal mining process. Many people were harmed because of the capitalist companies that entered the area and were only worried about making a profit. The Appalachia Mountains is the mountainous region that goes from western Maryland to northeast Alabama (extracting 113). The large amounts of coal that were beneath the Earth in the Appalachia Mountains attracted investors there in the late nineteenth century (extracting 113). Population in the area surged between 1850 and 1880 making the farming of the land in an ecologically viable manner almost impossible (extracting 114). Since farmland started decreasing because of the population surge, farmers began to seek wage work to make more money (extracting 114). Finding wage work was easy in this area. Capitalists came into the area and harvested areas that were once a swamp in the mountains into a coal mines (extracting 114). The coal fields in Appalachia extended over 72,000 square miles (extracting 114). The one good thing about the coal fields was that they were easy to mine (extracting 114). To mine the coal all one had to do was follow the seams from the surface along the contour of the mountain (extracting 114). During this time the standard of living in Appalachia was declining (extracting 114). Many people worked on the farm and mined to make money to support their families (extracting 114). It became really hard for the people of Appalachia to be full-time miners and part-time farmers (extracting 114). “As company towns and mining camps colonized the desirable bottom-lands, farmer, already beset by more people than available land, had to squeeze over,” (extracting 114). Since farmers had to go up the mountains to farm because of coal mines many farmers met their death (extracting 114). For example, on May 30, 1927 a flash flood in Kentucky’s Cumberland Plateau caused one hundred mountaineers to die (extracting 115). The mining in the Appalachia Mountains caused more problems than it created successes. Many people were forced out of their normal routines because of the miners coming in and it ultimately killed many farmers. There are many effects from mining that cause harm to the environment and people involved. The effects can be seen in the harm of people mining the Appalachia Mountains and in the Upper Big Branch mining disaster. The air qualities near mining areas are affected the worst. Airborne particles are a big problem. Through the extraction process many airborne particles are released. Explosives and exhaust from the heavy equipment being used to mine are released into the air through the extraction process. The water quality in areas of mining are also affected. Acidic discharges are a huge problem in mining areas. One acidic discharge that is dangerous is the acid rock drainage from waste rock and tailing piles containing naturally occurring sulfides. Acid mine drainage from water percolating through abandoned mines are also dangerous to the water quality in mining areas. There are also just general environmental impacts of mining. One major impact is resource degradation. This includes subsidence, unstable piles, and vegetation and habitat destruction. The destruction of vegetation and habitat can be seen with the earlier explanation of mining in the Appalachia Mountains. The general consumption of resources also is an impact of mining. Mining takes up a lot of land and can also run people off of their land because of the mining. There are many affects mining has on the people and the environment (ecm.org). The Upper Big Branch Mining Disaster was a reminder of how poor the regulations are in the mines. A reminder before the Upper Big Branch disaster occurred in 1968 in Farmington, West Virginia. An explosion at a coal mine in Farmington killed seventy-eight men working in the mines. After the Farmington explosion the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 was passed. The act was supposed to create new and better working conditions for the men in the industry. This act increased the enforcement of safety regulations in the mines. The Act required four annual inspections of the mine. It also established mandatory fines for violations. Criminal penalties were also put into place for the people who knowingly and willfully violated regulations put in place by this act. The powers of the inspectors were also increased. Inspectors could close a mine if too much danger was involved. The stricter regulations on mines were supposed to help out the miners (msha.gov).
A recent event that proves mining for coal is dangerous to people is the Upper Big Branch Mining Disaster. The Upper Big Branch Mine- South is located in Montcoal, West Virginia (pdf 1). On April 5, 2010 at approximately 3:00 pm a massive coal dust explosion occurred at the mine (pdf 1). A total of twenty- nine miners died in the explosion making it the worst coal mine explosion in United States history (pdf 2). Many factors went into the cause of the explosion. The Accident Report found that the physical conditions that led to the explosion were caused by safety violations by Upper Big Branch Mine (pdf 2). The unlawful policies and practices implemented by Upper Big Branch Mine also was a cause of the explosion (pdf 2). The Safety Report also found The Upper Big Branch Mine valued production over safety (pdf 2). The mine also conducted mining operations that were in violation in the law (pdf 2). The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster proves that mining is dangerous for anyone involved. The whole situation could have been avoided if there were stricter safety regulations on the mines. A total of twenty- nine lives could have been saved if stricter guidelines were enforced or if the United States would use a safer and more efficient energy source. Mining has been proven to be dangerous over history. There are effects that harm the environment and the humans involved. In this paper there have been two mining disasters discussed and the early mining in the Appalachia Mountains. We see in the early mining of the Appalachia Mountains how the people were treated. Farm lands were taken over to mine and the poverty level increased because of the miners. Through the Farmington, West Virginia explosion we see stricter regulations being placed on the mining industries. We see more inspections and more violation penalties. The Upper Big East Mining Disaster proves that mining is still dangerous. Even after all the new regulations the big corporations are still seeking one thing. They are looking to increase production which in turn increases profit. The safety of the miners is secondary to profits for the big corporations. The environment is also being harmed from mining. Air pollution, water pollution, and resource degradation are all examples of ways the environment is being harmed by the mining industry. I believe the Upper Big Branch Mining Disaster is a recent event that shows how dangerous mining is still today. It proves that the safety regulations and conditions of mining are still harming the people as well as the environment.

Works Cited