Snow Falling Underground
by Robert Miner
Everyone watched the safety video, right? I’m not saying anything against it - the only thing I’ll say is the corporate types who made it don’t come down here so much. They’re busy up there with their spreadsheets and their PowerPoints and such - that’s all important, don’t get me wrong - but coal miners stay safe by watching each other’s backs.
Here’s something I want you all to remember as we walk through our tour. Things work differently down here than on the surface - air doesn’t circulate the way it does above. You can get pockets in the mines where there’s no oxygen at all - if someone in our party walks into an area and collapses do NOT run in after him or I’m going to have to save you both.
When I was a young miner, I was told the story of one man who walked into an empty section of a tunnel and passed out - three more men died as one after another went in to save his buddies and collapsed from lack of oxygen.
Let me tell show you something. Look up here at the roof of the tunnel, that’s a coal seam. Seams are soft and unstable – you have to be heads-up. Miners talk about snow falling underground - that’s coal dust. If you ever see it, move back – that means the tunnel’s roof is ready to collapse. And I’m telling you a chunk of shale can flake off and separate your shoulder or knock you unconscious even with your helmet on. And, the dust is explosive -one spark killed 111 miners in Centralia back in 1947. A fire down here is no joke – it can rip right through these tunnels – and it’s damned hard to put out. A mine near Hillsboro has been smoldering for four years -four years – that’s the God’s honest truth.
You can’t let your guard down when you’re underground. But I’m here to tell you there are days I feel like I belong down here more than above. Walking out into the sunlight can be pretty jarring – the light can blind you so you don’t see danger coming - and most times there’s no one watching your back.
Robert Miner works in government affairs on low carbon energy policy. This piece pays tribute to the men and women who did the hard and dangerous work of powering the world in the age of coal power. His flash fiction has appeared in On The Run. His poetry can be found @RobertMinerpoetry on Instagram and in publications including Ribbons, Whiptail Journal, Acropolis Journal, and more.