SILICOSIS: ACUTE LESSONS LEARNED FROM EXCAVATION OF THE HAWKS NEST TUNNEL, WEST VIRGINIA, 1930-31
Helen M. Lang, Department of Geology & Geography, West Virginia University
LOCATION AND EXCAVATION
The tunnel (aqueduct) was built in 1930-31 to divert water of the New River for 3 miles (~5 km) through Gauley Mountain over a drop of 162 ft (~50 m). The tunnel is 3146 feet in diameter. The power plant at the end of tunnel provided hydroelectric power for a Union Carbide plant nearby. The tunnel was drilled through nearly pure quartz arenite of the Lower Pennsylvanian Nuttall sandstone.
WORKING CONDITIONS
The Hawk's Nest tunnel (aqueduct) was excavated in 1930-31 at the height of "the Great Depression" The New Kanawha Power Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Carbide, designed and contracted the building of the Tunnel The contractor, Rinehart & Dennis, out of Charlottesville, VA, hired the workers and supervised the construction Most of the excavation was completed in just 18 months, although the contract allowed 2 years. Most tunnel workers were black migrants from the South; local blacks were not hired because they would not tolerate the horrible treatment by the contractor. Some local whites were hired as foremen and drillers. Segregated camps were overcrowded. Company bullies rousted workers out of camp at beginning of shifts; beatings were common. Turnover among workers was high. More than 60% of the workers worked less than 2 months.
Hawks Nest Dam
Photographs courtesy of the West Virginia State Archives, Department of Culture and History, The Cultural Center, Charleston, West Virginia.
New River upstream of Hawk's Nest Dam
New River downstream of Hawk's Nest Dam
DID THE COMPANIES (UNION CARBIDE AND RINEHART & DENNIS) KNOW THE DANGERS OF SILICOSIS? Chronic silicosis was well known by 1930; acute silicosis (the type that affected Hawk's Nest workers) was not yet well known. 1897 wet drilling was introduced in England 1911 dry drilling was strictly forbidden in South Africa 1914 U.S. Bureau of Mines recommended annual exam for those exposed to silica dusts 1917 U.S. Public Health Service Bulletin about silicosis was distributed widely among employers Companies claimed that they took massive precautions against dust in tunnel; suggests they knew there was a potential problem. Union Carbide (NKPC) employees wore respirators in tunnel Rinehart & Dennis employees did not wear respirators Companies claimed ignorance of the dangers of silicosis BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN! Blueprint of Hawk's Nest Tunnel, 12 Feb. 1935, 10X vertical exaggeration from The Hawk's Nest Incident: America's Worst Industrial Disaster, 1986, by Martin Cherniack
PRECAUTIONS TAKEN(?) TO PROTECT THE WORKERS Dust levels in the tunnel were never measured Respirators were used only by Union Carbide employees respirators were not available to drillers. Evacuation of tunnel during and 2 hours after blasting was supposed to be routine, but was not always done. Wet drilling and water spray to reduce dust wet drilling was used only for horizontal holes and during inspections. Ventilation system 20" canvas pipe with fan was in place, but inadequate and often broken-down. Gasoline engines gave off noxious fumes and CO caused many complaints, their use was eventually discontinued. Medical exams and health care incompetent and uninformed local doctor diagnosed "tunnelitis," gave poor health care and didn't recognize the developing silicosis crisis.
CONSEQUENCES
HOW WOULD THINGS BE DIFFERENT TODAY?
Strict workplace safety regulations are in place in all developed countries. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and similar agencies have oversight and responsibility to enforce regulations that protect workers in the U.S. and other developed nations. Regulations not may be uniformly and routinely enforced. Worker's Compensation now covers silicosis and should provide affected workers with at least some compensation for occupational diseases Lawsuit settlements are likely to be high and to favor workers, but legal action is expensive and takes years to come to a settlement. Undervalued populations (Mexican and other legal and illegal immigrants) are still likely to be taken advantage of in the U.S. and elsewhere. Workers in "Third-World" and underdeveloped countries lack legal and other protection from occupational diseases like silicosis.
The Hawk's Nest Power Plant is still operating
Ferrosilicon alloy still made at plant in Alloy, WV
HOW MANY DIED? from The Hawk's Nest Incident: America's Worst Industrial Disaster, 1986, by Martin Cherniack, Yale University Press We will never know. Social security numbers were not yet implemented, many workers were black migrants from the South who wandered off toward home. Cherniack estimated the number of deaths by attributing all excess deaths among white males in Fayette County between 1931 and 1937 to work in the Hawk's Nest tunnel. He determined the risk factor by dividing that number by the number of local white males who worked more than 2 months inside the tunnel (the threshold for disease). From this analysis he determined a shocking risk factor of 63%! Applying that rate to the 1213 men who worked in the tunnel for more than 2 months, Cherniack arrived at his "consistently conservative" estimate that at least 764 men died of acute silicosis or another lung disease within 6 years after having worked in the Hawk's Nest tunnel! CONSEQUENCES Recognition of a new, aggressive form of silicosis, acute silicosis. There were numerous lawsuits and a few public trials. Lawsuits were settled out of court for small amounts of money. Records all had to be turned over to Union Carbide. Plaintiffs received from $400 to $1000 depending on marital status and race. Brief national recognition resulted from a Congressional Hearing before the House Sub-Committee on Labor, in New York City in 1936. Congressional action was recommended, but none was taken. WV and other states finally made silicosis compensable under Workmen's Compensation, but Hawk's Nest workers were specifically excluded. The Hawk's Nes...