 In 1973, the federal government began keeping records of fatalities when victims went in by supported roof. From 1973 through 1979, there were 139 fatalities. During the 1980s, 141 miners were killed by falls of unsupported roof. Widespread use of automated temporary roof support, ATRS, has reduced the number of deaths caused by falls of unsupported roof. However, this type of accident is still a very serious problem. During the first half of the 1990s, there were 25 fatalities involving miners in by supported roof. Why do some people go in by? At one time or another, you have probably heard people attempt to justify why it's okay to go in by. Let's examine some of these myths. It's my life, so I'll take risks if I feel like it. Please stop to consider that several people besides yourself may be harmed or put in danger if you are caught in a roof fall accident. If you are killed, your spouse, children and others who love and depend on you will suffer. The accident will have devastating emotional and possibly financial consequences on your loved ones, and your co-workers may be in serious danger if they try to rescue you. Listen as this miner tells us of the danger he and his crew were in when they started to help a fellow miner who was caught under a fall. The way the roof had come in, it came across the miner, and fortunately big pieces came down and sort of surrounded the canopy, so little pieces couldn't get down inside to cut him. He was in good shape. We decided rather than have him wait, we would get him out as quickly as we could and sort of threw caution to the wind. It wasn't the best thing to do to go underneath an unstable roof like that, but we thought it would be better to get him out after I got him outside. The roof came in three more times as they were trying to pull the miner out, and we had all been standing there just moments before. Before you step beyond the last row of roof bolts, stop to ask, besides myself, whose lives am I putting in jeopardy? After working underground for a few years, you learn when the roof is good. It's only young miners who don't have much mining experience that get caught by falls of unsupported roof. If this myth were true, we would expect to find that most miners who have been killed by falls of unsupported roof had less experience than other miners. A study was recently performed by the Bureau of Mines on the various attributes of 53 miners killed by falls of unsupported roof between 1986 and 1993. It was found that their average age was 35, with an average of 12 years mining experience, including four years working in their current job classification. Miners who are killed by falls of unsupported roof appear to be no different from other miners in terms of age and mining experience. In fact, most of these victims had a considerable amount of mining experience prior to their accident. I've been a miner for over half my life, and just because I'm going to work at a new mine, my chances aren't any greater of having an accident. In the Bureau of Mines study mentioned earlier, it was found that even though they had a lot of mining experience, most of the 53 miners who were killed by falls of unsupported roof had only worked at the mine where they were killed for a very short period of time. Half of the victims had worked for less than eight months before they were killed. This is very disturbing, especially when you consider that nationwide the average length of time underground coal miners have worked at their present mine is about nine years. This suggests that miners need to be especially cautious about avoiding unsupported roof when they start work at a new mine or when they change job classifications at their present mine, even though they have had a lot of prior experience. Researchers are not sure which factors are responsible for the startling finding. Some speculate that it may be a result of different mine conditions, equipment, and mining methods. Such changes could result in new potential safety hazards of which miners should be aware. For example, there can be substantial differences in the stability of the roof from one mine to another. Miners who are used to working where falls of unsupported roof very rarely happen may develop the habit of doing certain seemingly safe jobs under unsupported roof. If these miners should go to work at a different mine where falls of unsupported roof are more common, it may take some time for them to change their old habits. Once established, habits can be very difficult to change. Unfortunately, miners may be killed by a roof fall before they ever have a chance to realize that these old habits are much more dangerous in their new work environment. If you are assigned a job near face areas, you should be aware of the dangers of unsupported roof. This is especially important if you have recently worked at mines where roof conditions were stable and therefore may have developed a complacent attitude about going under unsupported roof. As long as I stay close to the last roof support, I'll be protected from falling rocks. As part of the Bureau of Mines study, researchers looked at how far beyond the last row of supports each of the 53 victims had gone at the time they were killed. Most of them were found no more than 4 feet beyond the last row of supports. This clearly indicates that it is not safe to go even a short distance beyond the last row of roof supports. If I stay close to the edge of supported roof, I'll have time to jump out of the way if it starts to come down. The following coal miner tells us how quickly a roof fall can happen. I just turned to start walking back towards the back end of the miner, and I just got a glimpse of something out of my right side there, and it was like the whole cut came down. I sort of seen it, got a little glimpse of it coming down, and I tried to jump at the same time. I tried to yell over the berry for him to get out of the road. But before we had time to do anything, it was down who came down really fast. We have very good roof conditions at this mine, so there's really no need to worry about unsupported roof. There are several well-documented cases in which a mine's first reportable roof fall resulted in a fatality. Remember, it only takes one roof fall to cause a fatality. The myths we have just presented are only a few of the many that people may want to believe in order to justify why it's okay to go in by roof supports. You may have heard of others. But as you can see, these myths are obviously not true. The reality is that there are no good excuses for going in by supported roof. Government, industry, and manufacturers of mining equipment continue to work together to develop new technologies that will provide a safe work environment. These developments have had a large impact on protecting miners, but they haven't eliminated all unsafe conditions. Miners who operate machinery equipped with an ATRS or a canopy should not have a false sense of security. ATRS systems have greatly reduced the need for individuals to venture in by permanent support to manually set temporary support. However, to be effective, the ATRS system needs to be used properly. Likewise, canopies have protected miners from roof falls, but you are still required to stay under supported roof, even when you are under a canopy. Miners usually expect to derive some benefit or advantage by going under unsupported roof, or they would not do it. Often, they believe it will save them some time or effort or will in some way make their job a little easier. Talk to your foreman, co-workers, and or safety representative about situations that may tempt you or others to work or go under unsupported roof. Because you work underground, you are in an excellent position to understand the kind of situations that come up that make it tempting to go under unsupported roof. After discussing these problem situations, miners often come up with good ways to eliminate some of them. Although going in by might make life a little easier for you today or tomorrow, in the long run, it may cost you your life. Unsupported roof is an unpredictable killer. No one can require you to go in by supported roof, except in special situations for the sole purpose of setting temporary supports. You are protected under the Code of Federal Regulations and Section 105c of the 1977 Mine Act. For further information, read A Guide to Miner's Rights. A copy of this booklet can be obtained from the National Mine Health and Safety Academy. Remember, the next time you are tempted to go in by supported roof, the odds are always against you and against those who expect to see you back home at the end of your shift.