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By R. R. Sayers

carbon monoxide mav occur in many places and inhalation of that insidious s is a. frequent and .videly distributed cause of poisoning, ranging in severity from headache and. inefficiency to unconsciousness and death. People are continual­ly being affected by carbon monoxide 1n the home, in garages, around gas and gasoline engines and blast-furnaces, in fighting fires, after blasting in mines and quarries, and after mine fires and explosions; in fact, everywhere there is the possibility of an exposure to the products of combustion of carbonaceous fuels or products, On the other hand, there are arzy' cases reported wherP. ill effects and acci:ients are wro:1gly .ttributed to carbon monoxide. Thus it is essential indeed for doctors, coroners, safety engineers, a.n1 !irst-aid men to be able to recognize this poisoning, not only as reeards giving proper treatment, but to ensure just decisions on claims and to eliminate false illusions and complaints of ·11orkrr.en.

May 1, 1922

By R. V. Ramani, R. Stefanko, G. W. Luxbacher

TEST DECK - AITIHETER SURVEY WITHOUT ALTIMETER TEUPERATURE CORRECTION DATA INPUT

Jan 1, 1977

By Staff

This Bureau of Mines report is devoted to descriptions of investigations pertaining to underground mine trailing cables, their handling, splicing, and the use of couplers.

Jan 1, 1979

1. Mining to prevent and control underground acid formation should begin with education imparted through: (A) Course work at mining schools to teach prospective engineers. (B) Training of engineers presently employed in the mining industry through appropriate mining extension courses. 2. Considerable need exists to devote more attention to: (A) Hydrogeologic studies of mining areas to enhance the planning of new mines and the abatement program of existing mines. (B) Additional research to explore methods of dewatering the strata associated with mining areas. (C) Further effort to develop sealants for preventing contact between water or oxygen and the acid producing material associated with the coal seam.

Jan 1, 1970

By Fred N. Kissell

The U.S. Bureau of Mines was established in1910 to reduce .the high accident rate in the nation's coalmines. For 85 years, it conducted a wide variety of tasks related to mining before it was abolished in 1995. The BOM had many technology transfer successes in its lifetime, including more than a dozen "R&D100" awards. This essay identifies and discusses five "transfer factors" that can explain the success (or failure) of many Bureau of Mines projects. These five factors are termed "pressure, pitfalls, path, price, and profit."

By Edward A. Barrett, Launa Mallett, Charles Vaught, Kathleen M. Kowalski, Michael J. Brnich, Lynn L. Rethi, Robert Randolph, William J. Wiehagen

The goal of the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory's training research is to explore the relationship between valid instruction and improved worker performance. Studies summarized in this paper include: (a) the development and assessment of training techniques that strengthen miners' ability to act competently in emergencies; (b) investigations of classroom simulations that enhance the perceptual, judgment and decision making skills of workers confronted with mine hazards; and (c) field studies of the linkages between financial investments in occupation at skills training and measurable outcomes.' The authors maintain that better ties between training and performance will aid long-term human resource development. The best way to establish this connection is through the use of objective and reliable data.

By Jr. Schnakenberg

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been working with diesel emissions control technology and the underground mining industry for a number of years. Underground isolated zone studies provided the emissions reduction performance of all of the alternative technologies currently available. A NIOSH/MSHA guide is available which provides mines with information and a process for selecting diesel particulate filters (DPF). Recent NIOSH experience suggests that more attention may be needed in managing the issues associated with diesel emissions and their control. The author argues that a holistic approach is needed which involves several key mine operations departments or disciplines by positing that workplace air can be considered as the product of a complex manufacturing process and examining how that process could be managed.

The first steps in the process of mine evacuation are the recognition of a problem and an attempt to communicate the problem to miners who may be affected. This chapter will focus on the way that a problem, fire, came to the attention of mine personnel and the messages that were sent to miners in the affected areas. The concept of information uncertainty, which was introduced in chapter 4, will be discussed as it influences problem perception and diagnosis. Sociotechnical and interpersonal communications will be explored and suggestions for improving these systems will be offered. It might seem that the first indication of a dangerous fire would motivate individuals to take self-protective action, to evacuate the affected area or structure, and to provide clear warning to others who are in danger. Research has actually shown that in most situations this does not occur. Instead, time is taken to gather more information, confirm information that is provided, and consider possible alternative explanations that could account for the given circumstances [Canter 1990; Scanlon 1979; Bickman et al. 1977]. This process of confirmation can lead to the loss of critical time. Canter [1990] summarizes the problem in his book, which reports studies of a number of fire events: "As discussed throughout this book, ambiguity and confusion, incoherent instructions and time-wasting actions, lack of appropriate instructions and misunderstanding of the nature of the event that is unfolding, are all hallmarks of fires and emergencies that kill people." In this chapter, the detection of each mine fire and the communication of warning to endangered miners will be reviewed with an emphasis on how those processes were affected by the availability and use of information. Information can become available through a variety of mechanisms during an emergency situation. First, cues may be taken directly from the environment. Smoke is an obvious example. Secondly, mechanical devices, such as smoke detectors, may provide warning messages. A third source of information is interpersonal communications. These can occur face-to-face or through some mechanical device such as a telephone. With all three methods there is a possibility of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation. All of these means of communication were used with varying degrees of success in the three mine fires analyzed here. A fire, like any nonroutine situation, engenders uncertainty about a diagnosis and understanding of the problem [Mead 1938]. This uncertainty leads to delays in realization of the seriousness of the situation and therefore in the proper response to it. Delay in action is an important concern in any fire setting, but is even more at issue in underground coal mine fires. Mine fires are qualitatively different from structural blazes: workers' escapeways may be miles long; the seam height at many operations is so low that it is impossible to walk upright; access to underground workings is always limited to a few (sometimes only two)

Jan 1, 2000

By Jürgen F. Brune, R. Karl Zipf, Kenneth L. Cashdollar

This paper outlines the legal standards and methods for protecting underground coal mines in the United States from explosions of methane gas and coal dust. It will discuss inspection and monitoring of mine atmospheres, dilution of methane through ventilation, methane drainage prior to, during and post-mining, as well as explosion prevention through rock dusting and sealing of mined-out areas. Recent research findings of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Pittsburgh Research Laboratory on the magnitude of pressures obtained during methane explosions from modeling and full-scale explosion tests at the NIOSH Lake Lynn Experimental Mine will be presented. This work is currently being applied to modeling the structural response of explosion-proof mine seals to pressures from gas explosions. Also, new research will be presented on the inertization of float coal dust in mines through the addition of inert stone dust and on the application of the Coal Dust Explosibility Meter (CDEM), a handheld device developed by NIOSH to directly measure the explosibility of a coal dust - limestone dust mixture based on optical reflectivity.

By Amanda Azman, Richard Hi Danie/son

Ultimately, the most important product of a hearing conservation program is the prevention of hearing loss, not the amount of hearing protection that has been purchased or whether employees are attending their annual training sessions. Audiometric testing directly reveals whether hearing losses are actually occurring in a plant. With audiometric data, we can assess overall program effectiveness, alert workers of impending hearing loss, and reveal potential employer liabilities for compensable hearing loss. Without the ability to efficiently analyze audiometric data or produce effective reports, our programs become fruitless and unproductive. Consequently, ifaudiometric data are such vital end-products, then effective audiometric technologies serve as the prime architect and generator of these fundamental data. These technologies, consisting ofaudiometers, associated peripheral hardware, and database/reporting software, deserve our consideration.

Volumetric measures [ ]

Jan 1, 1960

By Northcutt Ely

Jan 1, 1961

By J. Walden, S. Rhoades, R. E. Miller, R. Gibbs, P. Boman

Accelerometers and pressure transducers mounted in suspension components can be used to monitor the ride of haulage trucks. Presently, it is difficult to tell what caused a jolt to the truck using either pressure or acceleration data alone. When information horn a Global Positioning System is recorded at the same time as shock pressures or acceleration data, then the exact location of an event can be determined. Mine management can then determine what caused the jolt to the truck.

GLOSSARY TERM DEFINITION ACCOMODATION The process by-which the eye changes focus from one distance to another. ADAPTATION The process by which the retina adjusts-to more or less light then it was exposed to during an immediately preceding period. Also involved, to a lesser degress, is the change in the size of the pupil which regulates the amount of light entering the eye. Adaptation results in a change in the sensitivity of the eye to light. CENTRAL VISION (FOVEAL) The seeing of objects in the central or foveal part of the visual field. It is approximately two degrees in diameter and permits seeing much finer detail than does peripheral vision. DIRECT GLARE The effect of brightness or brightness differences within the visual field sufficiently high to cause annoyance, discomfort, or loss in visual performance. FOOT CANDLE A measure of the amount of light falling onto a surface. FOOT LAMBERT A measure of the amount of light that is being reflected by a surface. GLARE The effect of brightness or differences in brightness within the visual field sufficiently high to cause annoyance, discomfort, or loss in visual performance. LAMP A generic term for a man-made source of light. By extension, the term is also used to denote sources that radiate in regions of spectrom adjacent to the visible.

Jan 1, 1976

By M. Townsend, E. L. Petsonk, H. Abrons, E. Daniloff, K. Kinsley

Workers exposed to certain inhaled dusts may show increased levels of nonspecific airways responsiveness (AR). In some studies, cigarette smokers have also been reported to have increased levels of AR. As part of an ongoing study, we compared the results of preshift methacholine inhalation challenge, spirometry, and smoking and occupational histories, in 191 under-ground bituminous coal miners (M) and 215 non-mining control workers· (C) . All M and c were selected to have normal baseline% predicted FEVI (PPFEV). Mining tenure was recorded as years worked underground (YRUG) and at the coal face (YRFC). AR was assessed as the% decrease in FEVI from baseline divided by the dose of methacholine delivered. M reported similar years smoked (YRSM) but fewer pack-years* (PY) than c~ Overall, both increasing YRSM and PY were associated with more AR*. Smoking C* but not M showed increased AR with increasing PY. In smoking and nonsmoking M, baseline AR and PPFEV showed no association with YRUG. The level of AR was inversely related to YRFC*, possibly representing selection away from dustier jobs. AR was inversely correlated with PPFEV*. In this study, AR and baseline PPFEV were not significantly associated with mining tenure, but cigarette smoking was related to both baseline lung function and level of AR. * p < 0.05 (Supported in part by Grant Gll35142, us Bureau of Mines, Generic Mineral Technology Center for Respirable Dust.)

Jan 1, 1989

By V. A. Marple, K. L. Rubow

"Filter samplers are one of the simplest methods and, in some instances, one of the only methods that can be use to obtain samples of particulate matter suspended in a gaseous medium. Once collected, particles are normally analyzed directly on the filter by gravimetric, chemical or microscopic techniques. However, it is sometimes desirable to resuspend the particles in an airstream for analysis. This would be the case if the size distribution of the particles were to be measured using one of many particle sizing techniques such as inertial classifiers, optical particle counters or the TSI Aerodynamic Particle Sizer CAPS).A ·technique has been recently developed whereby one can resuspend particles from filter samples in an airstream. The technique has been used for the resuspension of coal dust from filters. The resuspended particles were then introduced into the APS. This development was necessary since an APS can not be taken directly into an underground coal mine. For this application, particle samples are collected on membrane filters in the underground mines. The mass concentration of the particles determined through gravimetric analysis. The particle size distribution was tl1en determined by resuspending the particles and passing them through a TSI Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS). Excellent agreement has been obtained between the size distribution directly measured underground with a cascade impactor and that measured from the resuspended particles. For this experiment, an open-faced filter sampler was placed adjacent to the cascade impactor in the n1ine. The particles collected on the filter were resuspended in the laboratory and Measured with the APS.A venturi aspirator is used in the apparatus developed for resuspending the particles. The venturi has a small diameter capillary tube placed in the venturi throat. High velocity air flow is passed through the venturi, thereby, creating a low pressure region at the exit of the capillary tube. The low pressure draws air through the tube. The filter with deposited particles is located at the inlet to the capillary tube where the air flow into the capillary resuspend the particles. Once airborne, the particles are deagglomerated as they pass through the high velocity air flow in the venturi throat."

Jan 1, 1989

Develop a means of determining both the fill level of material in an ore pass or bin and the location of bridging material causing a blockage.

Jan 1, 2000

By Maria I. De Rosa

This report analyzes mine fires for all U.S. underground and surface coal mining categories by state and 2-year time periods during 1990-1999. Risk rate values are derived, and ignition source, methods of fire detection and suppression, and other variables are examined. The data were derived from Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) mine fire accident publications and verbal communications with mine personnel. The analysis will provide the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, MSHA, and the mining industry with a better understanding of the causes and hazards associated with mine fires and will form a basis for future fire research programs.

Jan 1, 2004

Objective: To develop and test a training program that enhances the hazard recognition skills of underground limestone miners. This program can help job performance and lead to enhanced safety in the underground workplace.

May 1, 1998

Coal is found in the northeast comer of Georgia, in Dade, Chattooga, Walker, and Floyd Counties. Five seams, which underlie all of Lookout, Sand, and Pigeon Mountains, have produced most of the coal mined in the state. Representative analyses of Georgia coals show that they are typically low sulfur (less than one to one percent), low-to-medium volatile, bituminous deposits. Although there is no active mining in the state, reclamation continues on several permitted areas. In 1983 the State of Georgia relinquished primacy to the Office of Surface Mining. Since that time permits have been issued and mining completed. All the sites are presently in the process of bond release.

Jan 1, 1992