Centralias Mine
In 1947, One hundred eleven men were killed in an explosion that took place at the Centralia No 5 mines located in the state of Illinois. The explosion was caused by highly explosive coal dust that was ignited by an explosive charge.
During that time, Driscoll Scanlan was one of l6 Illinois state mine inspectors, appointed by Governor Green. He was given the responsibility of policing the mines as well as the operators. Additionally, it was his duty to make sure that the company’s was in compliance with state mining laws and following safety regulations. Mr. Scanlan had a reputation of being stubborn, righteous; was considered to have fierce integrity and took his job very seriously.
Mr. Scanlan considered the Centralia No. 5 Mine to be the worst in his district. He reported numerous safety code violations, both minor and major. Furthermore, he made several recommendations to assist the company with solving the problem.
Mr. Scanlan did report this problem to Robert Medill, Illinois Director of the Department of mines and minerals. At the time, believing he could get the company to clean up the mine, he informed the Director that he talked the officers of the local union 52 out of bringing charges against the mine manager, Mr. Brown and have his certificate canceled. Mr. Scanlan should have let the union continue with their initial plan of filing charges and having the mine manager’s certificate revoked. The fact is this lack of compliance with safety regulations and intermittent response to these violations and blatantly ignoring any recommendations made by the inspector was very serious. It showed that the company had the least bit of interest in complying with any regulations. Mr. Scanlan should have filed charges himself given the history of the interaction with this company.
Mr. Scanlan had written so many reports for so long about the potential disaster at the mine that Robert Medill, On March 7, 1945 provided to him copies of all
During that time, Driscoll Scanlan was one of l6 Illinois state mine inspectors, appointed by Governor Green. He was given the responsibility of policing the mines as well as the operators. Additionally, it was his duty to make sure that the company’s was in compliance with state mining laws and following safety regulations. Mr. Scanlan had a reputation of being stubborn, righteous; was considered to have fierce integrity and took his job very seriously.
Mr. Scanlan considered the Centralia No. 5 Mine to be the worst in his district. He reported numerous safety code violations, both minor and major. Furthermore, he made several recommendations to assist the company with solving the problem.
Mr. Scanlan did report this problem to Robert Medill, Illinois Director of the Department of mines and minerals. At the time, believing he could get the company to clean up the mine, he informed the Director that he talked the officers of the local union 52 out of bringing charges against the mine manager, Mr. Brown and have his certificate canceled. Mr. Scanlan should have let the union continue with their initial plan of filing charges and having the mine manager’s certificate revoked. The fact is this lack of compliance with safety regulations and intermittent response to these violations and blatantly ignoring any recommendations made by the inspector was very serious. It showed that the company had the least bit of interest in complying with any regulations. Mr. Scanlan should have filed charges himself given the history of the interaction with this company.
Mr. Scanlan had written so many reports for so long about the potential disaster at the mine that Robert Medill, On March 7, 1945 provided to him copies of all