POOR LIGHTING

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 38, 14 August 1923, Page 7

POOR LIGHTING

WORKING IN THE MINES

THE MINERS' NYSTAGMUS.

Tlie fact that the miners were watching with interest the action being taken in England in connection with nystagmus, a disease brought on by the continuous overstraining of the eyes while working underground, was mentioned by Mr. P. O'Rourke, secretary of the Miners' federation, to a. "Post" reporter. Mr. O'Rourke stated that for many years. the New Zealand miners had been endeavouring to get the Government to amend the Mining Acts with a view to placing the men who were un- ' fortunately concerned ■ on the list of [' those who were liable to receive assistance through suffering from vocational disability. So far they had been unable to get the Government to act inthe . matter, but sooner or later some action would have to be taken, as there was now a large number of men suffer-, ing from the disability in New Zealand, ! and the number was likely to increase at a greater rate from now on unless there was some Very great change in the system of underground lighting. Since the big disaster at Huntly in 1914, at a. mine which was considered to be one of the safest in the world, the uao of safety lamps' was becoming more and more prevalent. There had been an increasing number of explosions in the mines, which accounted for the fact that the more powerful lights and open lights were being replaced by the safely lamps. These safety lamps were the cause of the trouble. Mr. O'Rourke stated -that they were- only about a quarter candle-power, and as a- general rule tiiree of them were allowed between two men. They were the result of. years o: experimenting to turn out a lamp that would not cause explosions. The flame, being so small, was put out on the slightest jar, while they went out with a flick if the flame cake into contact with gas. In order to save life it bad been necessary to put them into the mines. Next to providing light for the men to work, their main object was to detect gas and give the warning by going out. The trouble, however, was that the small light was so faint that the men suffered from a continual strain which in time affected the muscles and nerves round the eye. As this strain became more apparent the victim lost the use of his eyes, to all practical purposes, in connection with near objects and could not read, while in many cases it was impossible to see a road at night or to focus the eye on any near object.' i In reply, to a question as to •, what the miners suggested to get over the I difficulty, Mr. O'Rourke stated that the men wished the brighter lights to be reinstalled in the form of electric lights from dry batteries, which were safe in the mines. Where those lights did not Jill all requirements was in the direction of detecting the gases, and they therefore suggested that each man, or 'each pair, should be supplied with one safetyi lamp, which would enable them to discover any gas. There is not only one kind of gas <n a coal mine, and Mr. O'Rourke, as an old .miner, was interesting' in this connection. He said that the trouble usual, ly came from some worked out portion or bther part of the mine where the gas would accumulate without beiu" dc tected. This was the case in the Huntly affair. The atmospheric pressure on the morning of the accident was apparently lighter than usual, and the gas came down lower, not being so compressed as usual into the higher portion of the mine. It came down ] ow enough to catch fire from the naked lights, and the disastrous explosion occurred. Another gas was the black-damp, which "did not remain high m the air, but clung to the ground. The eftect on the miner was the gradual loss of the use of his le^s for the time being, and if his knees suddenly gave way before, he realised what was occurring he was- lost, unless there was someone there to remove him quickly. The most dreaded of all cases was ■ the white-damp, which he* did not think had been investigated with satisfactory results yet. A quarter per cent of xt in the air was fatal if inhaled It floated in the air and- mixed with it' be ing very difficult to detect. This' Has did not put the light out, but appeared to attract little flames of light away from the main light. . . '

Tiie gas, though the primary necessity m conjunction with a light for an explosion, is not the main cause of the trouble The disaster, that follows is caused by the coal dust. Immediately the primary explosion occurs there is an upheaval of coal dust. The primary explosion travels through the workings and has a, recurring effect. On-its return it explodes the coal dust, and it is this e\ plosion that causes the damage.