Health and Safety
Inspectors of mines and quarries were appointed to regulate employment conditions in coal mines in 1842. Their powers were extended to cover safety in coal mines in 1850, ironstone mines in 1860, metalliferous mines in 1872, slate mines in 1882, and open quarries in 1894. The archives of the inspectorate are in the Public Record Office (Powe 4, 6-8, 10). The annual reports of the inspectors, which include an introduction on each district, with statistics and details of accidents, were published as Parliamentary Papers. There are sets of the reports, 1850-1968, in the Public Record Office (Powe 7). They are also among the Parliamentary Papers in the British Library, and microfiche copies of these may be found in major libraries.
Abandonment plans of underground workings were required to be deposited, initially with the Home Office, from 1872. The plans of coal mines are now held by the Coal Authority, but those relating to other minerals have now been transferred to the appropriate local authority record office. The Scottish plans are held at the British Geological Survey Edinburgh office, and those for Ireland by the Geological Survey of Ireland.
Links
Geological Survey of Ireland
Beggars Bush
Haddington Road
Dublin 4
Tel: +353 1 670 7444
Fax: +353 1 668 1782
Web: www.gsi.ie