i STEAM COAL - Clpdigital.org

THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 39
The view above shows the surface plant of tht Pittsburgh Coal Co.'s Vulcan mine at Treveskyn,
Pa., of which W. G. Wilkins of The W. G. Wilkins Co. of Pittsburgh was the engineer.
RAVAGES OF THE MINER'S WORM
IN THE GERMAN COAL FIELDS.
The coal mines in the district around Aix la
Chapelle are so impregnated with the eggs of the
miner's worm (Ankylostoma duodenalis) as to
occasion great suffering to the miners and large
expense to the operators in providing means for
resisting its ravages. Thirty per cent, of the
miners in this section are affected and in Westphalia
as high as 60 per cent, of the miners are
suffering from the effects of anemia caused by the
worms. The first infection of the mines came
from a miner who had worked in the St. Gothard
tunnel. The dampness and slime in coal mines
seem to be favorable for the development and
multiplication of the worms, and as sulphuric
water and gases seem to have no preventive effect
it is a matter of extreme difficulty to eradicate
them from the mine which has been once infected.
The worm is about 5 millimeters (0.197 inch)
in length, and its ovum about 1 millimeter, that
is, 0.0394 inch. It is believed to enter the system
of the miner through his mouth or an open wound,
and once in the system it fastens itself in the
mucous membrane of the duodenum and produces
an anemia so pronounced as to make a complete
wreck of the man attacked. The disease is not
considered fatal and when recognized a treatment
with male fern tree or its oil is considered a specific.
Because of the difficulty of freeing an infected
mine of the worm, great care is taken by
owners of mines to prevent its entry. In affected
mines the methods adopted to prevent the spread
of the worm consist largely in the enforcement of
personal cleanliness on the miners. In a mine
which was visited recently each miner on going to
work was required to change his clothes. On returning
from the mine a bath was required and
his mining suit was thoroughly fumigated. Weekly
inspections were required of all miners and upon
any complaint of illness by a miner special examination
was made.
Bergassesor Alemme, director Vereinigunge-
Gesellschaft, at Kohlscheid, has just completed a
shaft on sound sanitary principles for all employes
of that company whether working above
or below ground, and inquiries from medical societies
or others interested would probably be answered
by him with technical information on the
subject.