I think that Dave Williams is absolutely correct that the
Nationalising the coal industry resulted in an improvement in safety.
The National Coal Board actively promoted safety, for example, by
safety campaigns and disseminating safety information. The benefit of
a Nationalised industry is to be able to raise standards across the
industry to the level of the highest. An example would be the very
high standards enforced by the National Coal Board for its surveying
staff. I don't believe that any mine plan before 1947 can
automatically be relied upon for accuracy, later plans can. The N.C.B.
also required a standard naming system for seams within a coalfield
(rather than each colliery giving the same seam a different name).
Thus the effect of standardised seam naming and accurate plans on
reducing the risk of inrush from abandoned mine workings, for example,
can readily be seen. However, Peter Challis is also correct in saying
that being able to separate the different reasons for
safety improvement would be notoriously difficult.
Barry Job.
Eur. Ing. Dr. Barry Job,
Department of Geology,
School of Sciences,
Staffordshire University,
College Road,
Stoke-on-Trent,
ST4 2DE.
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