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In coal blood | Salon.com

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Link: In coal blood | Salon.com.

But half a century later, the legacy of those coal miners in southern Illinois is all but forgotten. According to a recent report in Forbes, a subsidiary of the Murray-owned mine in Utah -- the American Coal Co. -- owns the Galatia mine in southern Illinois (less than 20 miles from where my grandfather nearly lost his life), and has received 869 citations for violations at the mine so far this year. Digging deeper into the Mine Safety and Health Administration records, Robert Gehrke of the Salt Lake Tribune reported last week that Murray's mine in Galatia had racked up 2,787 violations since 2005. More than 660 of the violations ranked as substantial enough to possibly "result in an injury or illness of a reasonably serious nature." American Coal Co. has said that it is addressing some of the violations, although it is currently appealing some fines and citations.

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) - An Exhibit on Mining Disasters

Link: Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) - An Exhibit on Mining Disasters.

Historically, large-scale mine disasters have stirred the fires of reform and provided the impetus for legislation to provide the miner with a safer working place.

Thus, it happened in 1907 when the Fairmont Coal Company's mine at Monongah, West Virginia exploded killing 362 men and boys. Congress reacted to the disaster at Monongah by passing and toughening mining laws.

In 1910, following a decade in which the number of coal mine fatalities exceeded 2,000 annually, Congress established the Bureau of Mines as a new agency in the Department of the Interior. The Bureau was charged with the responsibility to conduct research and to reduce accidents in the coal mining industry.

Again, in 1968, and less than five miles from Monongah, an explosion and a resulting fire killed 78 men at the Consol No 9 mines at Farmington, West Virginia.