ABSTRACT
This article assesses the changing conceptions of the environmental impact of South African coal mining in the first half of the twentieth century, with special reference to the Witbank coalfield in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The anticipated development of the emerging coal town of Witbank was founded on the growing demand for coal. As Witbank's local landscape became visibly scarred, coal-based pollution was continually challenged and redefined. In an attempt to market electricity, and appease the doubts of potential consumers, attempts were made by Escom to romanticise features of Witbank's industrialised environment. Once mines were decommissioned, they were abandoned. Coal production increased dramatically during the Second World War, which provided an economic windfall for the local electrical, steel and chemical industries, placing undue pressure on the coal industry to step up production. The severe damage caused by coal mining during this period resulted in the ecological devastation of affected landscapes. The findings of an inter-departmental committee established to conduct research during the mid-1940s revealed the gravity of coal-based pollution, and set a precedent in the way that the state conceived of the impact of industry and mining. The report of this committee was completed in the wake of the war, by which time the Witbank coalfield had become one of the most heavily polluted regions of South Africa.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants , Air Pollution , Coal , Environment , Public Health , Air Pollutants/economics , Air Pollutants/history , Air Pollution/economics , Air Pollution/history , Air Pollution/legislation & jurisprudence , Coal/economics , Coal/history , Coal Mining/economics , Coal Mining/education , Coal Mining/history , Coal Mining/legislation & jurisprudence , History, 20th Century , Industry/economics , Industry/education , Industry/history , Industry/legislation & jurisprudence , Public Health/economics , Public Health/education , Public Health/history , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , South Africa/ethnologySubject(s)
Civil Disorders , Coal Mining , Employment , Labor Unions , Men's Health , Civil Disorders/economics , Civil Disorders/ethnology , Civil Disorders/history , Civil Disorders/legislation & jurisprudence , Civil Disorders/psychology , Coal Mining/economics , Coal Mining/education , Coal Mining/history , Coal Mining/legislation & jurisprudence , Economics/history , Employment/economics , Employment/history , Employment/legislation & jurisprudence , Employment/psychology , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Labor Unions/economics , Labor Unions/history , Labor Unions/legislation & jurisprudence , Men's Health/ethnology , Men's Health/history , Social Conditions/economics , Social Conditions/history , Social Conditions/legislation & jurisprudence , Unemployment/history , Unemployment/psychology , West Virginia/ethnologyABSTRACT
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health researchers conducted a study to investigate the human response issues related to wearing a self-contained self-rescuer (SCSR). The goal was to develop training to educate miners on what they could expect from their units during an escape. Subjects included miners who had experience wearing SCSRs, manufacturers, and researchers. Results identified nine key areas of concern: (1) starting the unit, (2) unit heat, (3) induction of coughing, (4) unit taste, (5) difficulty in breathing while wearing the unit, (6) quality of the air supplied, (7) nose clips, (8) goggles, and (9) the behavior of the breathing bag. In addition, researchers reviewed the literature on human response under duress. This article describes the expectations training program, which comprises the findings of the SCSR study and what is known about the normal human response in an emergency. The authors present background on SCSRs and the SCSR switchover procedure mandated in the recent federal Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, which provided the impetus for the expectations training.
Subject(s)
Coal Mining/education , Occupational Health , Respiratory Protective Devices , Equipment Design , Humans , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. , Oxygen/administration & dosage , United StatesSubject(s)
Alcoholic Intoxication , Judicial Role , Marital Status , Newspapers as Topic , Police , Social Behavior , Stereotyped Behavior , Women , Alcoholic Intoxication/economics , Alcoholic Intoxication/ethnology , Alcoholic Intoxication/history , Alcoholic Intoxication/psychology , Attitude to Health/ethnology , Coal Mining/economics , Coal Mining/education , Coal Mining/history , Coal Mining/legislation & jurisprudence , Employment/economics , Employment/history , Employment/legislation & jurisprudence , Employment/psychology , Gender Identity , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Judicial Role/history , Marital Status/ethnology , Morals , Newspapers as Topic/economics , Newspapers as Topic/history , Newspapers as Topic/legislation & jurisprudence , Police/economics , Police/education , Police/history , Police/legislation & jurisprudence , Public Health/economics , Public Health/education , Public Health/history , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Punishment/history , Punishment/psychology , Social Class , Social Welfare/economics , Social Welfare/ethnology , Social Welfare/history , Social Welfare/legislation & jurisprudence , Social Welfare/psychology , Socioeconomic Factors , Stereotyped Behavior/physiology , Wales/ethnology , Women/education , Women/history , Women/psychology , Women's Health/economics , Women's Health/ethnology , Women's Health/history , Women's Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Women's Rights/economics , Women's Rights/educationSubject(s)
Anthracosis , Coal Mining , Memory , Men's Health , Occupational Health , Anthracosis/economics , Anthracosis/ethnology , Anthracosis/history , Anthracosis/psychology , Coal Mining/economics , Coal Mining/education , Coal Mining/history , Coal Mining/legislation & jurisprudence , History, 20th Century , Memory/physiology , Men's Health/economics , Men's Health/ethnology , Men's Health/history , Men's Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Mining/economics , Mining/education , Mining/history , Mining/legislation & jurisprudence , Narration/history , Occupational Health/history , Occupational Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Public Health/economics , Public Health/education , Public Health/history , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Safety/economics , Safety/history , Safety/legislation & jurisprudence , Scotland/ethnologySubject(s)
Coal Mining , Gender Identity , Women, Working , Coal Mining/economics , Coal Mining/education , Coal Mining/history , Cultural Characteristics , England/ethnology , History, 20th Century , Politics , Social Change/history , Socioeconomic Factors , Stereotyped Behavior , Women/education , Women/history , Women/psychology , Women's Health/economics , Women's Health/ethnology , Women's Health/history , Women's Rights/economics , Women's Rights/education , Women's Rights/history , Women's Rights/legislation & jurisprudence , Women, Working/education , Women, Working/history , Women, Working/psychologySubject(s)
Coal Mining , Mental Health , Stress, Psychological , Unemployment , Coal Mining/economics , Coal Mining/education , Coal Mining/history , Coal Mining/legislation & jurisprudence , Economics/history , Economics/legislation & jurisprudence , Family Relations/ethnology , Fund Raising/economics , Fund Raising/history , Government Programs/economics , Government Programs/education , Government Programs/history , Government Programs/legislation & jurisprudence , History, 20th Century , Mental Health/history , Mental Health Associations/economics , Mental Health Associations/history , Psychology, Industrial/economics , Psychology, Industrial/education , Psychology, Industrial/history , Psychology, Social/economics , Psychology, Social/education , Psychology, Social/history , Recreation/economics , Recreation/physiology , Recreation/psychology , Socioeconomic Factors , Stress, Psychological/economics , Stress, Psychological/ethnology , Stress, Psychological/history , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Unemployment/history , Unemployment/psychology , Wales/ethnologySubject(s)
Birth Rate , Coal Mining , Fertility , Men's Health , Occupational Exposure , Women's Health , Birth Rate/ethnology , Coal Mining/economics , Coal Mining/education , Coal Mining/history , Coal Mining/legislation & jurisprudence , Demography , Employment/economics , Employment/history , Employment/legislation & jurisprudence , Employment/psychology , England/ethnology , Family Characteristics/ethnology , Family Health/ethnology , Fertility/physiology , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Men's Health/economics , Men's Health/ethnology , Men's Health/history , Men's Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Occupational Exposure/economics , Occupational Exposure/history , Occupational Exposure/legislation & jurisprudence , Population Density , Public Health/economics , Public Health/education , Public Health/history , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Social Class/history , Socioeconomic Factors , Women's Health/economics , Women's Health/ethnology , Women's Health/history , Women's Health/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
Professiographic analysis of the labour in coal mining resulted in the model for forecast of successful vocational education for the machinists of underground installations, and allowed the differential admission to mining special vocational schools to carry out.