Disaster Bilsthorpe

The Health and Safety Executive s report on the Bilsthorpe disaster stresses the unpredictability of rock behavior, the uncertainty of prediction, and the suddenness of the fall ... 

The Bilsthorpe disaster was a particularly vivid reminder of the ways that the strategic choice of warrants—in this case scientific knowledge—influences how writers locate liability and responsibility for risk judgments in risky environments. As Fig. 6.2 demonstrates, the roof fall occurred above the level of the bolts, beyond the limits of either technical control or scientific prediction. As a result, the entire roof fell as a massive block weighing more than 80,000 pounds, crushing miners, who had little or no warning of the impending disaster despite the presence of tell-tale monitors (sensometers) embedded in the mine roof. ... 

FIG. 6.2. In the Bilsthorpe disaster, the rcxjf fall occurred above the level of the bolts, beyond the limits of either technical control or scientific prediction. 

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