"This report describes a trip to Europe in the interest of safety in coal mines. It review the Eighth International Conference of Directors of Mine Safety Research, which met in Dortmund-Derne, Germany, July 5-10, 1954, to discuss results of studies made in different countries to improve health and safety conditions underground. It also summarizes information on subjects of special interest in the United States gained by the writer in visits to mining experiment stations in Belgium, France, and England." - p. 1.