Mortality

Nearly a thousand workers died from breathing silica dust during construction of Hawk's Tunnel, where many men were buried in unmarked graves. The tunnel was built to divert the New River three miles through a mountain to supply hydro-electricity to a private power plant at Gauley Junction, a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation. Construction began in 1930, was completed in 1935, and the tunnel remains in use today.

West Virginia · United States