LEVELLING UP TO SAFETY.

After a brief historical review of safety in British mines, the author examines the progressive downward trend that shows in the recorded figures for fatalities. Annual fatalities have been declining at the rate of 10 per year for the last seven years. The 1974 fatality level stood at 56; by projection of the selected rate of decline, the U. K. mining industry should have zero fatalities by 1981, six years from now. Although this implication is a little too good to be true, it further emphasizes the steady decline in fatalities. Efforts by the National Coal Board (NCB) toward the prevention of fatalities are also discussed and suggestions are made on how further progress can be made in this field.