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David Cardy
| Age: | 36 |
| Died: | 28th May 1889 |
| Accident: | 28th May 1889 |
| Year Born: | abt. 1853 |
| Colliery: | Rainton, Meadows Pit |
| Company: | Marquess of Londonderry |
| Occupation: | Deputy |
| Notes: | explosion of a charge of "roburite" ; he appears to have mismanaged the lighter and cap |
| Buried: | [not known] |
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| Description | |
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No. 35 on the list. — This accident occurred to a deputy at Rainton Meadows Colliery, whilst he was charging a hole with rohurite.
It is the custom at this colliery to use roburite for stone work, and the shots are fired by deputies, fuse and Bickford's patent lighters being used. A detonator is placed on one end of the fuse, then put into the charge of roburite and pushed into the hole. After this is done the hole is stemmed, and one of the patent lighters, consisting of a small tin case containing a glass bulb filled with sulphuric acid and surrounded on each side by chlorate of potash, is fastened on to the outer end of the fuse. The lighter is then nipped with a pair of pincers to break the bulb, and a flame is created by the contact of the acid and potash.
What had happened in this particular case it is difficult to say, but it was proved that the deceased had no pincers with him, and it can only be surmised that he had either put the lighter on to the fuse before he commenced to stem the hole, and had broken the bulb in it without being aware of the fact, or had used a stone instead of pincers, and did not know he had lit the shot. In either case he would be acting wrongly. He was standing with his face to the hole when the shot exploded and killed him, he could not therefore have been aware that the fuse was running. The length of fuse would be about three feet.
I made several experiments with the patent lighters and three-feet lengths of fuse, taken from the same coil as had been used with the hole which caused this man's death, with the following results :—
| No. of Experiment. | Time after nipping Lighter that Shot would have exploded. | Remarks. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| mins. | secs. | ||
| 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 2 | 0 | 48 | Fuse burst at 26 ins. |
| 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | 0 | 55 | Fuse burst at 30 ins. |
The tin part of the lighter was recovered, and showed unmistakable signs of having been improperly nipped.
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| Sources | |
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- 1889 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6015), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 28, Accident Number: 35 Where to find this report
- 1889 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6015), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 7 Where to find this report
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| Researchers | |
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