Mine Safety

Mine safety issues are in the news following tragic coal mining disasters in China and the United States.  Examples of news stories are “China and West Virginia: A Tale of Two Mine Disasters” (Time magazine), “China to Crack Down on Mine Safety Violations” (Wall Street Journal), “With No Survivors in West Virginia Mine Blast, Focus Shifts to Responsibility” (Christian Science Monitor), and “Other Massey Mines Showed A Pattern Of Violations” (National Public Radio).

Browsing for “Mine safety” in the Relative Index yields:

Mine safety                               363.119622
Mine safety—social services         363.119622
Mine safety—technology              622.8

The interdisciplinary number for mine safety (and failures of safety) is 363.119622 Mine health and safety (built with 363.119 Occupational and industrial hazards in specific industries and occupations plus 622 Mining and related operations, following instructions at 363.119001–363.119999 Subdivisions for specific industries and occupations). The number is a subdivision of 363.1 Public safety programs, which has the class-here note: “Class here safety measures, interdisciplinary works on safety.”  Class-here notes have hierarchical force. An example of a work classed in 363.119622 is Minesafe International 2003: Conference Proceedings. For another example, Regulating Health and Safety in the British Mining Industries, 1800-1914 is classed in 363.119622094109034 Mine health and safety in British Isles in 19th century (363.119622 plus T1—09 Historical, geographic, persons treatment plus T2—41 British Isles, following instructions at T1—093–T1—099 Treatment by specific continents, countries, localities; extraterrestrial worlds, plus 09 Historical treatment from add table at T1—093–T1—099, plus 034 from T1—09034 19th century, 1800–1899, following instructions at 09 in the add table at  T1—093–T1—099).

Subdivisions of 363.119622 are available for mining specific kinds of materials, because the add instruction at 363.119001–363.119999 Subdivisions for specific industries and occupations calls for adding from the entire schedule (001–999).  One of the examples given with the add instruction is “hazards in coal mining 363.119622334.”  For example, Blast! : Cape Breton Coal Mine Disasters is classed in 363.119622334097169 Health and safety in coal mining in Cape Breton Island (built with 363.119 plus 622.33 Mining for carbonaceous materials, following instructions at 363.119001–363.119999, plus 4 from 553.24 Bituminous and semibituminous coal, following instructions at 622.331–622.337 Coal, graphite, solid and semisolid bitumens, plus T1—09 Historical, geographic, persons treatment plus T2—7169 Cape Breton Island). At 553.24 Bituminous and semibituminous coal are the notes:

Standard subdivisions are added for bituminous and semibituminous coal together, for bituminous coal alone

Class here comprehensive works on coal

For peat, see 553.21; for lignite, see 553.22; for cannel coal, see 553.23; for anthracite, see 553.25; for jet, see 553.87

Comprehensive works on safety in coal mining are classed in 363.119622334, but a work that focused on safety in anthracite coal mining would be classed in 363.119622335 (built with 5 from 553.25 Anthracite coal), because of the see reference from 553.24 to 553.25.    
                  
Technology of mine safety is classed in 622.8 Mine health and safety, e.g., International Mining Forum: New technologies in underground mining safety in mines: Proceedings of the Fifth International Mining Forum 2004, February 24-29, 2004, Cracow-Szczyrk-Wieliczka, Poland. 

There are subdivisions for specific topics, e.g., 622.82 Control of gas and explosions.  An example of a work classed in 622.82 is Handbook for Methane Control in Mining. With the add note at 622.331–622.337 Coal, graphite, solid and semisolid bitumens, which is used to build the number for coal mining, is the see reference: “however, for safety measures, see 622.8.”  See references have hierarchical force. Hence Coal Mine Methane: Review of the Mechanisms for Control of Emissions is also classed in 622.82.

After reviewing this blog, Giles wrote: “These coal-mining disasters reminded me of this monument that I saw a year and a half ago in southeastern Kentucky: Coal Miners' Memorial -- it’s a monument to the coal miners who have died in just one county in Appalachia.”