DSS202: Review of Westray: My Journey From Darkness to Light | Part 1 with Vernon Theriault

Today’s episode of the Dust Safety Science podcast is part one of a two-part interview with Vernon Theriault, author of the book ‘Westray: My Journey From Darkness To Light.’ During this mini-series, he talks about his experience living with the Westray disaster 30 years ago and how his life has transformed during the years that followed.

Vernon was a miner at the Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia when disaster struck at 5:18 a.m. on May 9th, 1992, taking the lives of 26 workers. In the aftermath of the 1992 disaster, Vernon struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, along with challenges with literacy. He received the Medal of Bravery, which is a Canadian medal of honour for those who showed bravery in hazardous circumstances.

Working at Westray

Vernon was initially employed at Crown Tire, which had a contract to do tire work at the mine. In December 1991, he joined Westray as a coal miner. Although he was working on May 9th, 1992, his shift was 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The explosion occurred two hours before he was scheduled to start, so he ended up participating in the rescue instead.

He recalled that even before the explosion, there were signs that trouble may loom ahead.

“Myself and other guys that worked there had to put tape around the top of our boots so the boots wouldn’t get full of coal dust. The coal dust in some areas was so deep that it was like going through snow – there were places where we got stuck in it and had to get somebody to tow us out.”

There were other issues:

The air underground was gassy. On May 8th (the day before the explosion), Vernon and another worker were asked to go down in the mains, remove the cement machine with a cement base, and set them up in another area. When he attempted to operate the scoop, it died on him due to the gassy air, as the methane sensor had been deactivated.
Management put blocks on the fans in the air vents that were supposed to get gas out, believing that the fans would interfere with the machine digging the coal.

The Explosion

After the explosion, Vernon and his day-shift coworkers were directed to go to the Plymouth Fire Hall with the families of the men caught in the disaster. He volunteered to participate in the rescue

“[Afterwards] I knew exactly what hell looked like. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. There were pieces all over the tunnel. We had to clear an area to make a walkway to go through. Everything was blown right out.

Although it took awhile for him to do so, Vernon now says, “They killed 26 of my coworkers. They were killed. They weren’t injured. You know, it wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t done by accident. [Things were] done that shouldn’t have been done.

How Did the Idea for a Book Come About?

Referring to the book, Vernon says, “There’s so much that had to be told. After doing the rescue, [I was] going to see the doctors and realized I ended up having mental health problems. Years passed by just not being myself. I listened to the inquiry and listened to all the lies and stuff that should have been done that wasn’t done. And then I had this all in my mind, but I was still trying to cope with life, so I hurt.”

In 1999, he went to Ottawa with the United Steelworkers, lobbying to get Bill C-45 passed into law. There, he was interviewed by a reporter who suggested I should write a book.

“I put my head down,” Verne recalls. “Then I looked him in the eyes and said, “I sure wish I could write a book. But I can’t read or write.” Then I broke down after that. It was so emotional for me to say that. But it was true. All I knew how to do was work. Show me what to do, I will do it. I could do it with my hands. But I couldn’t read or write. And that was a turning point for me.”

The reporter suggested that he put his story on tape, so he could use the information later on. Vernon got a tape recorder and recorded his story.

“I didn’t realize that it was going to take as long as it did,” he says. “But 18 years later, I got my book out. And you couldn’t ask for a better book.”

He attempted to get people to write the book, but wasn’t initially successful. With help from his family, he managed to get a rough manuscript together, but still needed someone to edit it. Finally he and his cousin, Marjorie Coady, worked together to get it into publishable form.

“I found out later that she was reluctant to work on it because it bothered me. She could hear it in my voice when we were doing the book. She said, “I had to break it up for you because you were so pressured.” And I said to her, “Thanks.” She realized how much pressure was on me to do that. Nimbus Publishing published our book. They took it on and they said Marje and I did an awesome job. Then they put their touch on it and we had a powerhouse book there.”

‘Westray: My Journey From Darkness to Light’ was mentioned in the Canadian Reader’s Digest in 2019. The same year, Vernon went to Pittsburgh to a Steelworkers’ Health and Safety meeting. He thought he was just there to sign books, but ended up getting the J. William Lloyd Award.

What Inspired the Idea for a Second Book?

Sadly, Marjorie Coady passed in 2019, before Vernon could write the second book he had planned. While fighting to get Bill C-45 passed, he spoke to people who told him exactly where they were on May 9th, 1992, when the mine blew up.

“It just melted my heart to listen to it all because on May 9th, 1992, all my thoughts were underground, doing what I could do for those 26 workers and help our Draegermen get in. [Even after] we called it off, I still went through a bad time in life. I didn’t want to talk to anybody. But now, I don’t mind talking about it. It actually helps.”

Vernon realized that he wanted to write a follow-up book to ‘Westray: My Journey From Darkness To Light,’ this one emphasizing the mental health challenges created by workplace accidents and deaths. As he himself can attest, the echoes of a deadly explosion can continue long after the dead are buried and the investigations concluded.

Conclusion

Vernon said that even after years of lobbying, when he hears about a workplace death in the news, it tears his heart apart.

“I just feel so bad for the families and the co-workers. I mean, there are accidents, but we have too many accidents. We have too many. I’m going to be doing whatever I can, but I just thank everybody for listening and I’d just like to let you know there’s a lot more to come.”

If you have questions about the contents of this or any other podcast episode, you can go to our ‘Questions from the Community’ page and submit a text message or video recording. We will then bring someone on to answer these questions in a future episode. You can also reach Vernon Theriault at [email protected].