Improving Self-Escape from Underground Coal Mines (2013) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 11-18
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From page 11... ...
mine safety practices has increased in recent years due to highly publicized accidents, such as the Sago mine disaster of January 2, 2006, which resulted in 12 fatalities, and the Upper Big Branch mine disaster of April 5, 2010, which resulted in 29 fatalities.1 Subsequent investiga 1 he T term "mine disaster" historically has been applied to mine accidents claiming five or more lives. Available: http://www.msha.gov/MSHAINFO/FactSheets/MSHAFCT8.HTM [May 2013]
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From page 12... ...
, which strengthened existing mine safety regulations and introduced new measures aimed at improving accident preparedness and emergency response in underground coal mines. However, there exists relatively little research indicating how mine operators have complied with the new regulations or whether they have been effective, particularly as they relate to self-escape.
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From page 13... ...
. For our purposes, the committee considers self-escape to be uniquely separate from rescue, which is a specialized response of trained rescue teams to assist miners who have become trapped or injured underground and can no longer remove themselves from the mine on their own.
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From page 14... ...
Mine Emergencies We define a mine emergency as an unplanned event that has the potential to cause serious injuries or loss of life and requires the disruption of mining operations and removal of miners from the mine. Given the nature of past disasters and known hazards in the underground coal mine environment (see Chapter 3)
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From page 15... ...
identify competencies that are essential for mine workers to have in order to allow them to execute self-escape methods, which will include cognitive competencies as in hazard recognition and decision making, as well as physical abilities; and 5. identify any "gaps" in scientific findings and the science of human error applied to mining that could inform this issue, thus help to set a possible research agenda for future funding strategies for NIOSH [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health]
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HUMAN-SYSTEMS INTEGRATION APPROACH Self-escape is a task that directly and indirectly involves multiple teams, acting before and during the escape itself, in a dynamic environment. Successful escape depends on available resources, actions of the organization and the miners, and the interactions between them.
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From page 17... ...
The meetings included a workshop and other public sessions in order to hear from a variety of stakeholders, including mine operators, technology developers, representatives from NIOSH and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and experts in self-escape from other industrial sectors. To become better acquainted with the coal mine environments and current practices and equipment, the committee visited one mine and one mine training site: the Consol Energy Bailey Mine, an underground coal mine in southwestern Pennsylvania, and the Academy for Mine Training
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From page 18... ...
The committee reviewed multiple sources of information as background for the study, such as relevant government and stakeholder reports and research, federal legislation (i.e., the MINER Act) , relevant code of federal regulations, and investigation reports from recent mine emergencies that included testimony from miners as well as academic literature, particularly that in regard to emergency response in mine emergencies, decision making, safety management, and training.
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