The Deadly Profession of the Coal Miner Quiz

Answer: Child worker who pushed trucks of coal

Coal mining was and is a dangerous job that did make use of children at one time. A "putter" was a child who pushed trucks of coal through mine tunnels. A "trapper" was a child who sat in the dark and opened and closed wooden doors to allow air into the mine.

These children often worked 18 hour days and rarely saw daylight. In 1824, laws in Europe and North America began to be passed preventing women and children under the age of 10 from working in coal mines. By the turn of the 20th century the minimum age had been changed to 13.

In many parts of the world children were, and still are, used in mining due to their small size and the fact that they're cheap labor.

Answer: Colliery

A colliery is the name for a coal mine and depending on location includes the associated buildings that are above ground. The world's oldest continually operated coal mine is the "Number 9 Coal Mine" located in Lansford, Pennsylvania. Coal mining in Britain dates back at least 2,000 years and has employed men, women and children in these efforts.

Answer: China

China produced twice as much coal as the United States, the second largest producer of the period. China used almost all its coal and was the second largest importer. The massive use of coal in industrial areas of China led to some of the planet's highest air pollution levels.

It also had effects on the water table and was responsible for acid rain in these areas. The miners in China were poorly paid and worked in deplorable conditions with few safety measures. China was blamed for over 70% of the world's mining fatalities in this period.

Answer: The Industrial Revolution

The effectiveness and success of the Industrial Revolution lay squarely on the shoulders of coal production as its power source. Coal was used to power steam engines which ran most early technology. As the demand for coal increased, mining went from, primarily, surface mining to deep-shaft mining which vastly increased production.

It was also a terribly dangerous job with few safety laws enacted or enforced for many years.

Answer: Hydrogen sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide is colorless, and very toxic. The characteristic smell of rotten eggs is the only thing that has saved countless miners throughout coal mining history. Unfortunately, the gas deadens the senses quickly and was often hidden amongst the foul smells of human excrement, pony excrement, burning candles etc., that were, at one time, often found in the mine.

Other deadly gasses included carbon monoxide and methane. Canaries were often used to detect these odorless gasses. When the canary got sick or appeared to be dying it warned the miners of the imminent danger and that evacuation was necessary.

Answer: They were flammable

Hydrogen sulfide, methane and carbon monoxide are all flammable and are responsible for one the gravest dangers to miners. Explosions in mines can be devastating. The 1907 Monogah Mine disaster that occurred in West Virginia was caused by the ignition of methane. Over 350 workers were killed as well as some of the rescue workers. Only one miner escaped.

It is often described as the worst mining accident in the United States.

Answer: Flooding

If a coal miner manages to avoid poisonous gas and explosions, one of the other big dangers is flooding. In this case, proper precautions were not taken before several above-ground flash floods occurred due to heavy rain. In this case, the water came from above, but often an accidental break into an underground water table can drown every miner in a mine quickly as walls of water come speeding through the tunnels.

As was stated in the title, this is a deadly profession.

Answer: Remove debris from coal before it is washed.

A coal breaker was a child who sat for hours in the darkness, picking out slate and other debris from coal as is streamed past on its way to being washed. Coal breakers usually became deformed by the crouched and bent-over posture they were forced to assume.

They became hunchbacked and their hands were usually deformed from the constant breaking of fingers and hands from the loads of coal as they streamed past. From this job position they moved up the scale to tending doors and ponies until they were 13 to 14, when they took up the work of adult men.

Answer: Cave In

In Northumberland, England 204 miners were killed in the Hartley Colliery disaster, which was caused by the breakage of a supporting beam that fell into the single mine shaft leading into the pit. The blockage and subsequent cave-in blocked all ventilation and all exits from the pit and suffocated the miners below. Cave-ins are an ever-present danger in the world of coal mining.

Answer: Pneumoconiosis

Coal worker's pneumoconiosis is a form of pneumoconiosis that results from years of breathing coal dust. Symptoms include a chronic cough and shortness of breath, both of which increase with time and can be fatal or in simpler cases shorten the life span dramatically.

There was no cure, and a diagnosis of pneumoconiosis drastically increased a miner's chance of developing lung cancer, heart failure, respiratory failure and tuberculosis. The lungs of long time miners could be coated so heavily in coal dust that it permeated the cells of the lungs.

It could be part of a slow painful death.