This series includes correspondence, reports, legal files, research papers, publications, and other material regarding occupational and mining safety, United States occupational and mining rules and regulations, American and international occupational and mining accidents, black lung and white lung diseases, project proposals and fundraising, international mining safety and trips (including those to South Africa and Europe), health and safety manuals, labor unions, and other such topics.

This series includes research, publications, and other material regarding American mine disasters and accidents, including the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster [2010], Aracoma Alma Mine Accident [2006], Farmington Mine Disaster [1968], and other earlier disasters. This series mainly consists of material on the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, as McAteer was appointed head independent investigator of the Governor's Independent Investigative Panel by Governor Joe Manchin soon after the disaster. For detailed maps created during this investigation, please see Series 8. Oversize, Upper Big Branch Maps (Boxes 86-110).

This series consists of books, booklets, binders, and other publications regarding occupational and mining safety, occupational and mining history, occupational and mining disasters and accidents, union strikes and history, West Virginia history, and other such topics.

This series consists of VHS cassettes, audiocassettes, and other audio/visual material regarding mining and occupational safety and other topics. Many tapes of "Appalshop," a documentary program focusing on Appalachian culture and history, are available, as well as recordings of interviews made by McAteer on mining safety and mine disasters.

This series consists of various artifacts regarding mining safety, mining history, unions, and other such topics, including photographs, posters, awards, commemorative coins, and other such objects. Notable objects include three boxes of rock and mineral specimens, a set of seal presses and seal press plates from various local chapters of the United Mine Workers of America, and a set of commemorative neckties from various mining organizations in the United Kingdom.

This series consists of oversize artifacts, including international mine safety posters, a set of late 19th century-early 20th century mining implements, and an office chair owned by John L. Lewis, union activist and former President of the United Mine Workers of America.

This series includes maps of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, and other states used by the Miners for Democracy to display voting locations.

This series consists of maps and some photographs created during the investigation of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster [2010] and a few maps of the Aracoma Alma Mine accident [2006]. The descriptions of the maps are based on transcriptions of text found on the maps themselves, including location codes, mapping team names, dates, and sometimes labels. Other than the transcribed text used for description, there is little or no additional textual content on most of these maps.

According to McAteer:

The maps are the result of a project to map the explosion of the Upper Big Branch Mine in 2010. The mapping involved an analysis of charcol resulting from the explosion of the coal to determine direction, speed, and force of the explosion. The maps are dated by when an investigation was conducted on a section of the mine represented by a map.

The alpha-numerics associated with the maps correlate to the MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) report of the Upper Big Branch explosion.

There were four teams conducting the investigation which took place over 10 months, 12 hours per day. Each day maps (of where the explosion occurred) were prepared for the teams, which met briefly in the morning at 6am. During the physical investigation, evidence was recorded onto the maps showing the results of flame and explosion. There are accompanying pictures to the report. The accumulated evidence formed the basis of the MSHA report.

This series consists of papers, correspondence, publications, and other material from McAteer's time as Vice President of Special Programs at Wheeling Jesuit University. Topics include the HEALTHeWV and HEALTHeSTATES programs, the Coal Impoundment Program and Community Alert program, the Wheeling Jesuit International Mining Health and Safety Symposium, and other such topics.