HC Deb 11 July 1933 vol 280 cc916-7
17. Mr. TINKER

asked the Secretary for Mines if his attention has been drawn to the high temperature prevailing in some of the mines and that the men working in them suffer in health in consequence of the heat and are unable to work the full time the colliery is open for employment; and will he have inquiries made with a view of putting in the forthcoming Mines Bill what the maximum temperature shall be for the men to work in?

Mr. E. BROWN

No representations have been made to me, but the very difficult problem of reducing the high wet bulb temperatures which naturally exist in some of the deeper mine workings is constantly being dealt with by the managers of such workings and the inspectors. I am advised that while work under such conditions is fatiguing it is not usually a cause of ill-health. The deep mining of coal in this country must necessarily extend in years to come, and for this reason the development of ameliorative measures is being continuously studied, both, in its medical and practical aspects, by the Hot and Deep Mines Committee which co-operates with the Safety in Mines Research Board.

Mr. TINKER

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that a recent investigation showed that men were working in a temperature of over 93 degrees; that the effect of the heat and the vitiated atmosphere is to cause boils and carbuncles and incapacitates the men from work; and will he see what can be done to deal with the matter.

Mr. BROWN

I think there is a misunderstanding there. I understand that boils among miners are comparatively rare. I am told that they occur at cool pits as well as at hot pits and that by no means at all hot pits do the condi- tions favour the development of boils, though a high temperature is an aggravating circumstance. From reports of a speech on Dr. Fisher's report on this subject, I find that there is a misunderstanding. It was stated in the speech that boils were a consequence of working in high temperatures, but Dr. Fisher's report did not bear out that statement. What he pointed out was that boils invariably arose from an unusual combination of circumstances, of which a high wet bulb temperature in the working places is one.