{"id":387,"date":"2014-08-06T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-06T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=387"},"modified":"2015-01-09T16:16:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:16:53","slug":"glimpses-from-the-bureau-of-mines-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/08\/06\/glimpses-from-the-bureau-of-mines-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Glimpses from the Bureau of Mines\u2019 history"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"February <\/a>
February 1948: An overhead view of the $3.5 million Bureau of Mines plant that attempted to turn coal into synthetic gasoline. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Undated <\/a>
Undated photo: A first aid class at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station training for mine rescue operations. (Handout\/U.S. Bureau of Mines) <\/div> <\/div>
\"1924: <\/a>
1924: A Bureau of Mines rescue team prepares to drive 60 miles to Bellaire, Ohio, to assist in a mine disaster that killed 119. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Undated: <\/a>
Undated: A gallery assembles to watch explosives testing. The Bureau of Mines wanted to determine safe usage for explosives in mines. (Handout\/Bureau of Mines) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Oct. <\/a>
Oct. 10, 1954: Mine safety inspectors enter the experimental facility at the Bureau of Mines. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Undated: <\/a>
Undated: And on another occasion, a training group exits the experimental mine. (Handout\/U.S. Bureau of Mines) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"1985: <\/a>
1985: At the 75-year anniversary of the Bureau of Mines, employees Kenneth Sacks and Nick Melucci talk about its progress in national mine safety. (Ross Catanza\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"1987: <\/a>
1987: Bureau of Mines employees Jack Shubilla and Wayne Duerr model new and old (left to right) mine respirators. Shubilla’s model held an hour of oxygen. (Robert J. Pavuchak\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Western Pennsylvania and surrounding Appalachia will forever be linked with a legacy of mining.<\/p>\n

It has historically been one of the region\u2019s most dangerous occupations<\/a>, and also one of the most necessary to modern society.<\/p>\n

Coal made industrial development possible, and it also likely powers the computer on which you\u2019re reading this story. Today, mining tragedies have decreased from the period in the early 1900s when nine men per day<\/strong> were dying in mines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That improvement is due to technological advances, some of which were developed at a facility in Bruceton, Pa., just outside Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Mines made the suburb and a 38-acre site its headquarters in 1910, and it built an experimental underground facility to try to learn more about the science of mining. Ultimately, the employees there needed to devise new ways to stop mining deaths.<\/p>\n

“The Experimental Mine was designed to serve the combined purposes of real world field test station, and theoretical science laboratory,” wrote Tom Imerito<\/a>, president of Science Communications.<\/p>\n

There was also a Pittsburgh Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines on Forbes Avenue. That\u2019s the setting for the first aid drill in the first image.<\/p>\n

As for why that gentleman is on a stationary bike, your guess is as good as ours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Western Pennsylvania and surrounding Appalachia will forever be linked with a legacy of mining.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesGlimpses from the Bureau of Mines\u2019 history<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[1110,983,1016,1017],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/tumblr_n9usayZQ2D1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C985&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1331,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/10\/04\/evolution-of-the-andy-warhol-museum\/","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":0},"title":"Evolution of the Andy Warhol Museum","date":"October 4, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Andy Warhol Museum, which opened in 1994, is located in a distinctive building that once served as a warehouse for oil well, mill and mine supplies.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tumblr_mu3olxGqZU1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7337,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/04\/04\/rudolphs-big-day-in-the-city\/","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":1},"title":"Rudolph’s big day in the city","date":"April 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A teenager gives his 11-year-old brother a tour of Pittsburgh","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Digs.JoeKatrencik001-e1490813185342.jpg?fit=1200%2C791&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":483,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/07\/09\/woodville-state-hospitals-rise-and-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":2},"title":"Woodville State Hospital\u2019s rise and fall","date":"July 9, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"In 1991, Gov. 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