Today’s episode of the Dust Safety Science podcast is the first in a new mini-series called ‘The Ripple Effects of Westray.
On May 9th, 1992, the Westray coal mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, was tragically destroyed by a methane gas explosion, followed by a full dust explosion. The 26 miners that were working that day all died as a result. This episode explains what happened, why we’re doing this mini-series and what you can expect in the episodes that follow.
What Inspired This Mini-Series?
Dr. Chris Cloney recently met Vernon Theriault, a survivor of the Westray Coal Mine explosion. Vernon had published a book called ‘Westray: My Journey From Darkness to Light.’ In that book, he talks about working at Westray, the explosion, the rescue efforts, and his experiences over the last 30 years since that disaster happened. Among these were nightmares, survivorship guilt, mental health issues, problems with Workers Compensation, personal difficulties he had with his education level and his inability to read and write, as well as his desire to communicate and eventually write this book.
When Dr. Cloney was introduced to Vernon, they talked about Westray in depth. At one point, Vernon said, “I’ve published this book. It’s been really amazing to get that out there, to have that story put into the world. But I feel like I’m not done. I feel like there’s something else that needs to be done.” He decided to write another book that addresses the mental health challenges encountered by those involved with industrial disasters: survivors, their families, and their communities.
As part of our interview series with Vernon, we will discuss his book, his experience, and all of these mental health challenges that happen when an industrial disaster occurs. There are some interviews planned with some media groups, including journalists who covered Westray, and researchers who participated at the time. We are also talking to other people, like family members, who can share their own specific experiences and stories with Westray.
We’re going to give Vernon the transcripts of all these podcasts in order to bring this together. As part of this project, we’re trying to develop a partnership through which he could develop a manuscript.
What Happened at Westray?
On the morning of May 9th, 1992, 26 miners were finishing their shift at Westray in the community of Plymouth, just outside New Glasgow and Pictou County. The mine had opened seven months earlier, and promised the creation of 300 well-paying jobs. It was secured by a $100 million loan from the province and from Federal loans. It was expected to deliver and was on contract to deliver 700 tons of coal per year to Nova Scotia Power in its first 15 years of operation.
All that changed at 5:18 a.m. on May 9th when a gas explosion at the coalface caused a secondary explosion that propagated within a matter of seconds throughout the entire mine. According to the Inquiry, this explosion was strong enough to cause the death of any workers involved. In addition, this combustion process completely consumed the oxygen in the mine, making it impossible to survive.
The coal dust explosion spread almost three kilometres throughout the mine and shook houses kilometres away. Unfortunately and tragically, all 26 men working in the mine died that day. It was the largest workplace catastrophe in Nova Scotia since two ships collided in Halifax Harbour in 1917.
There was a large public inquiry after Westray. It found that ignition was most probably due to the cutting machine or the picks of the continuous miner located at the face of the mine. This is the equipment that cuts further into the wall of the mine, making the mine longer, and causing sparks sufficient enough to ignite methane gas that accumulated near the face. A rolling methane gas flame propagated away from the face and accelerated into a full-scale explosion.
This report discusses a couple of different ways this could have happened. One is there were several pieces of equipment in the mine shafts that flame would have to pass through. There are also the walls of the mine itself. Other acceleration mechanisms were not ruled in or out. But at the end of the day, a strong shock and explosion occurred, causing a full coal dust explosion.
Several factors contributed to this situation:
- The mine lacked adequate ventilation to remove methane gas.
- Management tampered with methane sensors and instructed methane gas sensors to be turned off.
- In some places, coal dust was knee-high due to a lack of clean-up. As a precaution, workers taped their boots to their pant legs so coal dust wouldn’t get inside their boots.
- The rock dust inerting program was ineffective and nonexistent.
Aftermath of Westray
A five-year inquiry by the province led to a large report: ‘The Westray Story: a Predictable Path to Disaster.’ Mine managers were subjected to a lengthy criminal trial. Millions of dollars were spent on severance and unemployment costs, and over $100 million was owed to the government as a result of defaulted loans. For Nova Scotia Power, there were broken contracts for 700,000 tonnes of coal, which they had to purchase or find elsewhere. This five-year criminal investigation cost mine owners and managers a lot of money. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Vernon was heavily involved in lobbying with the United Steelworkers on the Westray Bill, which established new legal duties for workplace health and safety and imposed serious penalties for violations that result in injuries or death. It added a section to the Criminal Code of Canada, Section 217.1, which states, “Everyone who undertakes or has the authority to direct how another person does work or performs a task is under legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person or any other person arising from the work or the task.”
The RCMP started their probe into the explosion around the time that the rescue was called off in May of that year. On October 5th, 1992, Westray Coal and four of its managers were charged with 52 non-criminal counts of operating an unsafe mine under the Nova Scotia Occupational Health & Safety Act. That December, 34 of those charges were withdrawn. On March 4th, 1993, the remaining non-criminal charges were withdrawn and the people involved expressed concern that they may jeopardize future criminal charges.
Two of the mine managers were eventually charged with several counts of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death in the Westray Coal Mine explosion. Prosecutors ultimately decided not to pursue the charges because they determined that there was not enough evidence to secure convictions.
Conclusion
Today, a memorial marks the explosion site and people continue to honour the memories of those who died. Please tune in to the next episode in this mini-series to learn more about the impact that the Westray explosion continues to have on survivors, the victims’ families, and the community.
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.
Resources mentioned
Dust Safety Science
Combustible Dust Incident Database
Dust Safety Science Podcast
Questions from the Community
Dust Safety Academy
Dust Safety Professionals
Dust Safety Share
Reports
The Westray Story: a Predictable Path to Disaster
Legislation
Westray Bill
Books
Theriault, Vernon. Westray: My Journey From Darkness to Light.
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