CHECKPOINT

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 10th Year

Issue

Issue No.

7

Date Released

Mar 1957

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1AREA PROFILE: ST HELENs AREA
2. 2CHECKPOINT
3. 3TEN YEARS ON: Reconstruction

Story

Story No. within this Issue

2 / 3

Summary

NoS synopsis: Analysis of dust, air and coal samples from pits
NCB Commentary - Dust in the air is only one of the hazards which miners must meet.
In every Coal Board are regular checks are made on dust concentrations at the coal face and in roadways.
Samples are taken to the Area Laboratory where constant checks are carried out to ensure the safety of men and the quality of the product.
Each day samples of dust, samples of air, samples of coal flow in to the scientific laboratories.
Air samples, as opposed to dust samples, are continually analysed to find the proportions of carbon monoxide, of carbon dioxide, of methane, and of oxygen in the air underground.
Gas detector lamps used underground to detect deadly methane and ensure miners’ safety come in for regualr servicing.
Each area laboratory has a section devoted to analysis of the coal produced. Samples of coal from all the collieries in the area come in for analysis.
Here samples are being taken from a new batch to determine the volatility of the coal. Weighed quanitites are heated in an oven and reduced to ash.
Similar tests keep a check on the moisture content of the coal and on the amount of sulphur which samples contain.
On the checking of dust in the air, slides are prepared from the colliery samples. These slides are projected on a high magnification microscope. Thousands of such samples are analysed each year and every speck of dust is counted in order to keep a check on the condition of the air men breathe.
So, up and down the country, in every colliery area, the scientists of the area laboratory staffs make sure, day by day, that the safety of the workers and the quality of the product are continually safeguarded.

Researcher Comments

Commentary recorded 4th February 1957.

Keywords

Science and technology; Mining

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases
Film User   Vol.12 No.137 March 1958, p118.
The National Archives COAL 32   /12 Scripts for Mining Review, 1956-1960

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Sponsor

National Coal Board