Centralia mine disaster was a coal mine explosion in south-central Illinois in March 1947. The disaster killed 111 miners, making it one of the deadliest coal mine explosions in United States history. The events at Centralia brought attention to the lax enforcement of safety standards at American coal mines.
Background.
The town of Centralia, Illinois, was founded in the 1850’s at the intersection of two lines of the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1874, a large coal deposit was discovered south of the town. The first mine at the site was called Centralia No. 1. Additional mines followed. In 1906, the Bell and Zoller Coal Company of Chicago bought out the owners of Centralia’s mines and formed the Centralia Coal Company. In 1907, the company dug a fifth mine, Centralia No. 5, about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) south of town.
Coal dust is one of the many hazards of coal mining. When the air in a mine is saturated by coal dust, a spark can ignite an explosion (see Dust explosion ). Miners can spray water to reduce the dangers of coal dust. They can also mix the coal dust with noncombustible stone dust, a process called rock dusting. Both processes reduce the risk of an explosion. However, the processes must be repeated frequently to be effective. Miners had long complained of coal dust at the Centralia No. 5 mine.
In 1946, members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) accused mine operators and state authorities of failing to address safety concerns at the mines. Union representatives sent a strongly worded letter to Illinois Governor Dwight H. Green. They urged Green to enforce the laws at Centralia No. 5: “… please save our lives … before we have a dust explosion at this mine. …”
The explosion.
At 3:26 p.m. on March 25, 1947, an explosion occurred deep in Centralia No. 5. As miners set off explosives to blast coal from a rock face, airborne coal dust had ignited.
Of the 142 miners still underground at the end of the day shift, 111 were killed. Most died from the direct force of the explosion. Others were killed by poisonous carbon monoxide gas that filled the mine tunnels. Three of the four UMWA representatives who had signed the letter to Governor Green were killed.
Aftermath.
Rescue personnel, including Red Cross workers and several mine rescue teams, arrived shortly after the explosion. Miners’ families gathered at the mine site. The first rescue teams brought up several survivors. But few living miners were found in the mine after 10 p.m. On March 26, teams began bringing the dead miners to the surface.
Illinois legislators quickly called for investigations into the Centralia disaster. Much of the investigation centered on Driscoll Scanlan, a state mine inspector, and Robert Medill, the director of the state Department of Mines and Minerals. Scanlan had repeatedly warned Medill and others of the risk of a dust explosion at Centralia No. 5. Medill was forced to resign on April 1. He was later indicted by a grand jury for “palpable omission of duty,” but a judge dismissed the charges. The Centralia Coal Company was fined $1,000. The Centralia No. 5 mine was sold to the Peabody Coal Company. The mine was closed in 1948.
The Centralia disaster led the U.S. Congress to enact the first code of federal regulations for coal mine safety. The code lacked measures for enforcement, however. In December 1951, another explosion killed 119 men at a coal mine in West Frankfort, Illinois. Congress then passed the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act of 1952. The law required annual mine inspections at certain coal mines. It also gave inspectors more power to enforce regulations.
