"And there's nothing goes wrong" : Industry, Labour, and Health and Safety at the Fluorspar Mines, St Lawrence, Newfoundland, 1933-1978

Auteur(s) : Rennie, Richard Charles

• Notice du document

  Titre / Title

  "And there's nothing goes wrong" : Industry, Labour, and Health and Safety at the Fluorspar Mines, St Lawrence, Newfoundland, 1933-1978

  Auteur(s) / Author(s)

  Rennie Richard Charles, auteur principal

  Type de document

  Thèse de doctorat

  Publication

  Newfoundland (Canada), 2001

  Description technique / Physical description

  489 p.

• Description

  • Résumé / Abstract

    In 1933, an American entrepreaeur offered the people of St. Lawrence, a small town on the south coast of Newfoundland, the prospect of escaping rampant unemployment and meager public relief by starting a mine to extract the area's vast deposits of fluorspar, which is used in the manufacture of steel, aluminum, and various chemical products. Coming in the context of the Great Depression and the collapse of the fishing industry, the minimg industry was eagerly embraced by residents of St. Lawrence and surronnding communities. Several mines were subsequently established, by both the original American company, the St. Lawrence Corporation of Newfoundland, and later by the Aluminium Company of Canada (Alcan). The fragile prosperity that accompanied the industry from the 1930s until closure of the last Alcan mine in 1978, however, exacted a heavy price. Many St. Lawrence workers lost their lives to industrial diseases caused by dust and radiation in the mines. This thesis explores the history of industry, labour, and health and safety at the St. Lawrence mines. This study focuses on the struggle by workers and their union for recognition of workplace hazards, improved working conditions, and adequate compensation for industrial disease victims and their families. The thesis argues that, rather than being passive victims of an unavoidable tragedy, workers at St. Lawrence were aware of the adverse health impacts of their work from the very early years of mining, and fonght constantly over several decades to have their concerns addressed. Furthermore, the thesis argues that the disaster which ultimately unfolded at St. Lawrence was primarily the result of industry and government authorities ignoring or downplaying legitimate concerns and thereby shirking their motal and legal responsibilities.

  • Notes sur le contenu

    A theis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy