Research Projects for Enhancing Work Safety in Mines Implemented Following the Request of the President of the State Mining Authority

The paper focuses on actions aiming at improvement of work safety in mines, particularly in those extracting hard coal, taking into account the characteristics of natural hazards in Polish underground mining and the reasons of mining disasters connected with those hazards. It refers to conclusions addressed to scientific and research centres, drawn during last decade by Commissions appointed by the President of the State Mining Authority in order to investigate reasons and circumstances of incidents, which till now, could not have been accomplished because of financial reasons. Furthermore, the paper presents basic assumptions of the Strategic Research Project Improvement of work safety in mines, announced by the National Centre for Research and Development at State Mining Authority?s President request.