Re: canary
in a coal mine
Posted by ESC on November 28,
2001 In Reply to: canary in a coal mine
posted by JM Goethals on November 27, 2001
: I know the meaning
of the phrase, "canary in a coal mine", but I'm looking for the origin -- specifically,
first usage (date, by whom, where?). Does anyone have any insights?
You might
try contacting a coal history Web site. I found some information on when the canaries
were starting to be phased out. But not the first usage.
West Virginia Office
of Miners' Health, Safety and Training -- Photos from West Virginia's Mining History
(early 1900's) http://www.state.wv.us/mhst/histphoto.html There is a picture of
a miner with a canary in a cage. Can anyone do a link?
From this information,
it sounds like canaries and other small animals were used until lamps like a "Davy's
lamp" were used beginning in the early 1900s:
(Chicago, Ill., Museum of Science
and Industry site http://msichicago.org/exhibit/coal_mine/safe1.html ) "Beside
the danger of coal dust, methane gas or CH4 - is almost always found accompanying
a coal seam. As the coal is mined, the gas escapes into the mine. Methane is combustible
between 5% and 15% of the air (2% - 5% when coal dust is present) and needs to
be kept under 2%. Any more and it can burn with the slightest spark. Unfortunately,
methane is odorless, tasteless, and colorless and can't be detected without technology.
The
job of the Face Boss is to go out to the face at the beginning of each shift to
check the methane levels with a methanometer. If the levels are OK below 1 or
2%, they initial the roof and come back and get the miners and start the day.
If there is too much methane, well, that's why the foreman gets paid a little
more.
Long before this technology became available, miners might take a canary
or other small animal underground. A canary is much more sensitive and would show
that methane levels were high by, well, dying. But canaries were so delicate that
they weren't very reliable. So lamps like this Davy's lamp were used from the
beginning to the later part of this century to detect the presence of methane
by the methane feeding the little flame inside."
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