Download or read book Improving Self Escape from Underground Coal Mines written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-07-26 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coal mine disasters in the United States are relatively rare events; many of the roughly 50,000 miners underground will never have to evacuate a mine in an emergency during their careers. However, for those that do, the consequences have the potential to be devastating. U.S. mine safety practices have received increased attention in recent years because of the highly publicized coal mine disasters in 2006 and 2010. Investigations have centered on understanding both how to prevent or mitigate emergencies and what capabilities are needed by miners to self-escape to a place of safety successfully. This report focuses on the latter - the preparations for self-escape. In the wake of 2006 disasters, the U.S. Congress passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act), which was designed to strengthen existing mine safety regulations and set forth new measures aimed at improving accident preparedness and emergency response in underground coal mines. Since that time, the efforts of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) have contributed to safety improvements in the mining industry. However, the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in 2010 served as a reminder to remain ever vigilant on improving the prevention of mine disasters and preparations to help miners survive in the event of emergencies. This study was set in the context of human-systems integration (HSI), a systems approach that examines the interaction of people, tasks, and equipment and technology in the pursuit of a goal. It recognizes this interaction occurs within, and is influenced by, the broader environmental context. A key premise of human-systems integration is that much important information is lost when the various tasks within a system are considered individually or in isolation rather than in interaction with the whole system. Improving Self-Escape from Underground Coal Mines, the task of self-escape is part of the mine safety system.

Download or read book Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The System Safety Skeptic written by Terry L. Hardy and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2010 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advanced technologies and increasing automation have forever changed how systems work and how people interact with them. Transportation systems, energy extraction and production systems, medical devices, and manufacturing processes are increasingly complex. With the use of these complex systems comes increased potential for harm to humans, property, and the environment. System safety is a widely accepted management and engineering approach to analyze and address risks in these complex systems. When used correctly, system safety methods can provide tremendous benefits, focusing resources to reduce risk and improve safety. But poor system safety analyses can lead to overconfidence, and can result in a misunderstanding of the potential for harm. The System Safety Skeptic describes critical aspects of the discipline of system safety, including: Safety planning Hazard identification Hazard risk assessment and associated risk decision making Risk reduction and hazard controls Risk reduction verification Hazard tracking and anomaly reporting Safety management and culture Accidents in multiple industries and organizations are used to illustrate potential missteps in the system safety process, including: Failure to plan and implement systematic safety efforts, and failure to plan for emergencies Failure to accurately identify the hazards and what can go wrong Underestimating the chances that an accident could happen Underestimating the worst possible outcomes Overestimating the effectiveness of safeguards Failure to properly verify that safeguards actually work Failure to learn from the past Failure of the organization to adequately manage system safety efforts This book provides hundreds of lessons learned in safety management and engineering, drawing from examples from many industries as well as the author's years of experience in the field. These real-world lessons help foster a healthy skepticism toward safety analysis and management in order to prevent future accidents.

Download or read book Explosion Pressure Design Criteria for New Seals in U S Coal Mines written by M. J. Sapko and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seals are barriers constructed in underground coal mines throughout the United States to isolate abandoned mining panels or groups of panels from the active workings. Historically, mining regulations required seals to withstand a 140-kPa (20-psig) explosion pressure. However, the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act ("MINER Act") requires the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to increase this design standard by the end of 2007. This report provides a sound scientific and engineering justification to recommend a three-tiered explosion pressure design criterion for new seals in coal mines in response to the MINER Act. Much of the information contained in this report also applies to existing seals. Engineers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) examined seal design criteria and practices used in the United States, Europe, and Australia and then classified seals into their various applications. Next, the engineers considered various kinds of explosive atmospheres that can accumulate within sealed areas and used thermodynamic calculations and simple gas explosion models to estimate worst-case explosion pressures that could impact seals. Three design pressure-time curves were developed for the dynamic structural analysis of new seals under the conditions in which those seals may be used: unmonitored seals where there is a possibility of methane-air detonation or high-pressure nonreactive shock waves and their reflections behind the seal; unmonitored seals with little likelihood of detonation or high-pressure nonreactive shock waves and their reflections; and monitored seals where the amount of potentially explosive methane-air is strictly limited and controlled. Figure I is a simple flowchart that illustrates the key decisions in choosing between the monitored or unmonitored seal design approaches and the three design pressure-time curves. For the first condition, an unmonitored seal with an explosion run-up length of more than 50 m (165 ft), the possibility of detonation or high-pressure nonreactive shock waves and their reflections exists. The recommended design pressure-time curve rises to 4.4 MPa (640 psig) and then falls to the 800-kPa (120-psig) constant volume (CV) explosion overpressure. For unmonitored seals with an explosion run-up length of less than 50 m (165 ft), the possibility of detonation or high-pressure nonreactive shock waves and their reflections is less likely. A less severe design pressure-time curve that simply rises to the 800-kPa (120-psig) CV explosion overpressure may be employed. For monitored seals, engineers can use a 345-kPa (50-psig) design pressure-time curve if monitoring can ensure that (1) the maximum length of explosive mix behind a seal does not exceed 5 m (16 ft) and (2) the volume of explosive mix does not exceed 40% of the total sealed volume. Use of this 345-kPa (50-psig) design pressure-time curve requires monitoring and active management of the sealed area atmosphere. These design pressure-time curves apply to new seal design and construction. NIOSH engineers used these design pressure-time curves along with the Wall Analysis Code (WAC) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a simple plug analysis to develop design charts for the minimum required seal thickness to withstand each of these explosion pressure-time curves. These design charts consider a range of practical construction materials used in the mining industry and specify a minimum seal thickness given a certain seal height. Results of these analyses show that resistance to even the 4.4-MPa (640-psig) design pressure time curve can be achieved using common seal construction materials at reasonable thickness, demonstrating the feasibility and practical applications of this report. Engineers can also use other structural analysis programs to analyze and design seals by using the appropriate design pressure-time curve for the structural load and a design safety factor of 2 or more. Finally, this report also provides criteria for monitoring the atmosphere behind seals. NIOSH will continue research efforts to improve underground coal mine sealing strategies and to prevent explosions in sealed areas of coal mines. In collaboration with the U.S. National Laboratories, NIOSH will further examine the dynamics of methane and coal dust explosions in mines and the dynamic response of seals to these explosion loads. This upcoming project seeks to better understand the detonation phenomena and simple techniques to protect seals from transient pressures. Additional work will include field measurements of the atmosphere within sealed areas. Successful implementation of the seal design criteria and the associated recommendations in this report for new seal design and construction should significantly reduce the risk of seal failure due to explosions in abandoned areas of underground coal mines.

Download or read book Extracting the Science written by Jürgen Brune and published by SME. This book was released on 2010 with total page 557 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These research papers also cover a spectrum of innovative technical solutions, including computer-controlled mining equipment, remote monitoring of air quality, and virtual reality training systems.

Download or read book Resilience and Mental Health written by Steven M. Southwick and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-08-18 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humans are remarkably resilient in the face of crises, traumas, disabilities, attachment losses and ongoing adversities. To date, most research in the field of traumatic stress has focused on neurobiological, psychological and social factors associated with trauma-related psychopathology and deficits in psychosocial functioning. Far less is known about resilience to stress and healthy adaptation to stress and trauma. This book brings together experts from a broad array of scientific fields whose research has focused on adaptive responses to stress. Each of the five sections in the book examines the relevant concepts, spanning from factors that contribute to and promote resilience, to populations and societal systems in which resilience is employed, to specific applications and contexts of resilience and interventions designed to better enhance resilience. This will be suitable for clinicians and researchers who are interested in resilience across the lifespan and in response to a wide variety of stressors.

Download or read book Injury Experience in Coal Mining written by and published by . This book was released on 1950 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Sago Mine Disaster written by J. Davitt McAteer and published by . This book was released on 2007-08 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On Jan. 2, 2006, 29 coal miners went underground at the Sago Mine, Buckhannon, WV. At 6:26 a.m., an explosion propelled smoke, dust, debris & lethal carbon monoxide (CM) into the working sections of the mine. One miner was killed, 16 escaped, & 23 were unable to escape & retreated to await rescue. Rescuers found the trapped miners 41 hours later. By that time all but one had succumbed from CM asphyxiation. This is a report about why: the explosion was not contained; the mine rescue effort took so long; the trapped miners were sent no signal to tell them that help was coming; & after they were finally found, their waiting families were informed that all were alive -- & celebrated that news for 3 hours before being told the awful truth. Illus.

Download or read book Coal Fatalities written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illustrated abstracts from the official accident reports.

Download or read book Why Nudge written by Cass R. Sunstein and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-25 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best-selling author of Simpler offers an argument for protecting people from their own mistakes.

Download or read book The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education and Labor. Subcommittee on Compensation, Health, and Safety and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Departments of Labor Health and Human Services Education and related agencies written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Results of In mine Research in Support of the Investigation of the Sago Mine Explosion written by Kenneth L. Cashdollar and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training (WVOMHS&T) investigated the explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia, which occurred on January 2, 2006, and resulted in 12 fatalities. As part of the investigation, the agencies requested that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory evaluate the effects of explosions on specific mine ventilation seals and other structures and objects at its Lake Lynn Experimental Mine (LLEM). The results of the LLEM study would assist MSHA and WVOMHS&T in a more thorough understanding of the various questions that arose during their investigations of the explosion. Six large-scale explosion tests were conducted in the LLEM from April to October 2006. The protocols for these tests, and in particular the procedures for constructing various Omega block seals, were developed mainly by MSHA and WVOMHS&T. NIOSH developed the experimental procedures at the LLEM that would provide the required range of explosion pressures against the seals ... By comparing the results of known explosion loading pressures on the various ventilation structures and objects in the LLEM with their observations at the Sago Mine, MSHA and WVOMHS&T could better analyze the explosion pressures that may have occurred at the Sago Mine."--P. [1]-2.

Download or read book Electromagnetic Noise in Robena No 4 Coal Mine written by W. D. Bensema and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Electromagnetic Compatibility in Underground Mining written by K. Miskiewicz and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2012-12-02 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theoretical and technical problems of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in mining are covered in this volume. EMC is discussed in three main groups of problems: sources (generation) of interference, propagation of interference in mining conditions, the influence of interferences on mining devices, particularly electronic devices used in deep coal mines. Propagation of interference and its influence on mining communication and signalling systems as well as on control systems of mining machines are discussed. Attention is paid to the influences of interference on dispatching sytems which give to the dispatcher some information about mining hazards. The book will be of interest to mining and electrical engineers.

Download or read book Results of In Mine Research in Support of the Investigation of the Sago Mine Explosion written by Kenneth L. Cashdollar and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2009-09-30 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the request of the Mine safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training, the NIOSH's Pittsburgh Research Laboratory evaluated the effects of explosions on specific mine ventilation seals at its Lake Lynn Experimental Mine to assist the agencies in their investigations of the explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia, which occurred on January 2, 2006. Six full-scale explosion tests were conducted to help answer questions regarding possible scenarios for the Sago explosion. NIOSH's findings and recommendations are documented within.

Download or read book Seismicity in Mines written by G. Gibowicz and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 1989 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reprint from Pure and Applied Geophysics (PAGEOPH), Volume 129 (1989), No. 3/4