Mining Feature: A Day to Celebrate Miners - Miners Day, December 6, 2019

Friday, December 6, 2019

On December 6, National Miners Day, the NIOSH Mining Program honors the men and women who risk injury or illness while working to extract essential resources from our earth. The products they mine help supply our country with many of life’s necessities and luxuries. Mining supplies the raw materials for items we use every day, such as cell phones, computers, cookware, cars, roads, and more. Miners work in hazardous conditions which may threaten their personal safety and health. They face risks such as roof falls, explosions, lung disease, and hearing loss throughout their careers in the industry.

In 2009, Congress named December 6 National Miners Day. This date was chosen in remembrance of the December 6, 1907, Monongah, West Virginia, coal mine disaster – the worst mining disaster in American history – which resulted in in the deaths of 362 miners. In 1910, Congress created the Bureau of Mines, the precursor of the NIOSH Mining Program, to conduct research on ways to make miners’ jobs safer and to prevent injuries and fatalities in the mining industry. Through our extensive research on mining hazards, the NIOSH Mining Program strives to lessen the risk that mineworkers face as they extract precious and much-needed minerals and resources from the earth.