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By Launa Mallett, Charles Vaught, Michael J. Brnich

Purpose: This training material focuses on the content of emergency warning messages. Research has shown that when an emergency occurs, people often do not get the information they need for the purpose of taking appropriate action. This safety talk presents a procedure, using mental cues that can be used by senders and receivers of emergency warnings. Intended Use: This material has been developed for use in short safety-training sessions such as start-of-shift safety or Atoolbox@ talks. The information can be presented in approximately fifteen minutes and is appropriate for workers at all experience levels. While the examples and illustrations are taken from the underground coal mining industry, the training can be tailored to any work setting by substituting appropriate examples. Materials Needed: The instructor will need to prepare the figures provided in a form that can be seen by the entire class. Suggested methods include the use of: (1) overhead transparencies, (2) laminated pages that can be held up for small groups, and/or (3) handouts with copies of the figures for each trainee. As a supplement, stickers featuring the communication triangle can be placed on hard hats, telephones or other communication devices to remind workers about the key to effective emergency communication. The Talk: The accompanying script is a guide for presenting this safety talk. Training is enhanced if these materials are covered but not simply read by the trainer. Examples given in this guide are from real experiences. To make training more interesting and effective, the instructor can substitute examples from his/her workplace. Additional Resources: The following references will provide further information about communications during emergencies. Auf Der Heide, E. (1989). Disaster Response: Principles of Preparation and Coordination. The C.V. Mosby Company, St. Louis. Mallett, Launa, Charles Vaught, and Michael J. Brnich Jr. (1993). A Sociotechnical Communication in an Underground Mine Fire: A Study of Warning Messages During an Emergency Evacuation@, Safety Science, 16, pp. 709-728. Nigg, J.M. (1987). A Communication and Behavior: Organizational and Individual Response to Warnings@ in Sociology of Disasters: Contributions of Sociology to Disaster Research, R.R. Dynes, B. De Marchi, and C. Pelanda (eds.), Franco Angeli, Milan, Italy, pp. 103-116.

Jan 10, 1999

By Michael E. Henderson

The U.S. Bureau of Mines (BOM) constructed the Hydraulic Transport Research Facility (HTRF) to investigate the hydraulic parameters relating to the transport of coarse coal. To achieve these goals in a timely and efficient manner, the Bureau contracted to Boeing Services International, Inc. (BSI) the responsibility of operating the HTRF and providing technical support. This data report is a summary of the testing and data results for the period from 6 September to 9 September 1983. The testing covered herein is for coarse 2-in by 0 (minus 50 mm) Pittsburgh Seam run-of-mine (ROM) coal in a 12-in (300 mm) pipeline, at velocities ranging from 8 to 16 ft/s (2.4 to 4.9 m/s) and at concentrations ranging from 15 to 50 pct.

Jan 1, 1985

By Jami M. Girard

INTRODUCTION Slope stability accidents are one of the leading causes of fatalities at U.S. surface mining operations. The Spokane Research Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is currently conducting research to reduce the fatalities associated with slope failures and other unexpected failures of ground. The purpose of this paper is to introduce various warning signs of slope instability so operators are better able to recognize hazards. The most common slope monitoring equipment and practical methods of installation are discussed as well as the limitations of these systems. CONSEQUENCES OF SLOPE FAILURES Unexpected movement of ground causes the potential to endanger lives, demolish equipment, or destroy property. Between 1995 and 2001 (2nd quarter), 34 fatalities were caused by ground instability. This accounts for approximately 15% of all surface mine fatalities (Figure 1). These figures include fatalities classified by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) as “fall of face or highwall,” “powered haulage,” “equipment,” and other MSHA accident categories, where the primary cause of the accident was unanticipated movement of the ground. This includes fatalities resulting from bench and highwall failures, rock falls, waste dump and stockpile failures, and the collapse of unknown underground workings. [ ]

By Jeanne A. Smith, Suzanne D. Smith

Annoyance, fatigue, and musculoskeletal pain have been reported during prolonged exposures to propulsion-generated vibration in military propeller aircraft1. The objective of this study was to determine the vibration mitigation properties of selected seat cushions and the effects of occupant seating posture during exposure to higher frequency multi-axis vibration associated with military propeller aircraft. Methods A Navy E-2C Hawkeye crew seat was mounted onto the Six Degree-of-Freedom Motion Simulator (SIXMODE). Six seat pan cushion configurations were tested during exposure to an E-2C vibration signal collected in the field1. Seat pan cushions 1 – 5 were used with the original E-2C seat back cushion. Cushion configuration 6 included seat pan cushion 5 with a prototype seat back cushion. Triaxial accelerometer pads were mounted onto the seat pan and seat back cushions to measure the vibration entering the human. Data were collected for seven subjects seated upright with their backs in contact with the seat (back-on) and not in contact with the seat (back-off). Spectral analysis techniques were used to analyze data at the two dominant frequencies associated with the propulsion system (propeller rotation frequency (PRF) ~18.5 Hz, and blade passage frequency (BPF) ~73.5 Hz). Overall accelerations were also calculated between 1 and 80 Hz. Vibration Total Values (VTVs) were calculated using the weighted seat pan and seat back (back-on only) accelerations and compared to the comfort reactions given in ISO 2631-1: 19972. Results In general, the highest accelerations observed at the seat pan occurred in the fore-and-aft (X) direction at both the PRF and the BPF for all cushions and both postures. The most pronounced effect was at the BPF in the X direction, where all configurations showed significantly lower seat pan accelerations than configuration 1 (original E-2C cushion) with the back-on posture. Configuration 5 was the exception with the back-off posture (Fig. 1A, Repeated Measures ANOVA, P<0.05). The most pronounced effect of posture occurred at the PRF in the X direction, where all cushion configurations showed significantly lower seat pan accelerations with the back-off posture (Fig. 1B). All configurations except configuration 2 showed similar VTVs as compared to Configuration 1 (Fig. 2, P<0.05). Configuration 2 tended to show the lowest weighted acceleration levels. The overall VTVs (back-on only, Fig. 2B) showed significantly higher accelerations as compared to both the back-on and back-off seat pan point VTVs (Figs. 2A &

Jan 6, 2006

By Neil J. Mansfield, Setsuo Maeda

The purpose of using experimental subjective and/or perception methods is: (a) to understand human subjective impressions of the physical characteristics of vibration; (b) to determine the relationship between the subjective perception of some aspect of the vibration and an evaluation index of the physical vibration characteristics; and (c) the establishment of target values for design of vibration environments in terms of human sensation of vibration characteristics. In order to understand the relationship between a physical measure of the mechanical vibration and the subjectively perceived aspect of the vibration environment, experimental methods shown in Table 1 have been used1. [ ] The constant measurement methods of Table 1 are mainly used for measurement of the threshold of human sense. The subjective scaling methods are mainly used for obtaining subjective (or proportional) scaling between the perceived quantity and physical quantity. In this review, the fundamental approach of experimental methods for obtaining the target values used in the design of vibration environments, and the different findings between the subjectively perceived methods for evaluating human response to vibration characteristics and the physical quantity of the vibration environment are summarized. Fundamentals of Subjective Scaling The relationship between the experimental psychological methods for providing target values in the design of the vibration environments and the physical quantities is illustrated in Fig. 1. Vehicle mechanical vibration can be characterized using many metrics, and these can be considered the ‘input’ to the human. In order to predict subjective responses to the vibration, it is necessary to link the characteristics of the source of vibration and human reactions, the ‘output’.

Jan 6, 2006

By Winton Gale, David Oyler, Jinsheng Chen, Christopher Mark

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL), RAG Pennsylvania and Strata Control Technologies of Australia have collaborated to conduct an extensive study of roof bolt strata interaction at the Emerald mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The primary goal of the project was to obtain detailed data on the interaction between the mine roof and the support elements for use in modeling studies. The study site was a longwall tailgate subjected to high horizontal stress. Three arrays of instruments were installed at the site, one in the tailgate entry and two in an adjacent crosscut. Pumpable concrete cribs were present in the tailgate array, and cable bolts were installed in one of the crosscut arrays. The instruments included mechanical and sonic extensometers for measuring roof movement, instrumented roof bolts, and three-dimensional roof stress cells. The study was ultimately successful in determining the magnitude of the horizontal stress concentration, the height of roof failure and the roof failure sequence, and the loading history of the primary roof supports.

By Mark Flower

A 20L ignition test chamber has been used to test suspensions of 7 UK and world traded coals in air and O2/CO2 mixtures typical of oxy-combustion conditions. The coals varied in rank from sub-bituminous to bituminous and were tested in varying concentrations from the ignition limit to 400g/m3. Following each successful test the combustion residue was collected, weighed and analysed within a thermogravimetric analyser, allowing Q factors to be estimated. The ignition limit varied slightly in air, but was mostly around the 200g/m3 level. With the exception of Coal C, which was much harder to ignite, it correlated roughly with coal rank. The ignition limit changed significantly with O2 concentration when in mixed O2/CO2 gases. Only a few high volatile coals ignited in 21% O2/CO2 v/v, and then only with a 2500 J, rather than a 1000J, igniter. An increase in O2/CO2 levels to 30 or 35% gave ignition patterns similar to those carried out in air with a further increase to 40% having little additional effect. In addition the minimum ignition concentration decreased with increase in O2. Heterogeneous combustion or gasification of the coal by CO2 appears to be confirmed by comparing weight loss results for air and O2/CO2 mixtures respectively for an equivalent peak pressure rise.

Jan 1, 2009

By W. E. Brown, P. R. Porath, V. Miller, C. E. Wood, C. Prasky, E. P. Barrett

"INTRODUCTION This investigation was a part at the Bureau of Mines program for the production of critical and essential materials needed for the war.The Boykin Committee for investigating the steel shortage aided in obtaining an appropriation to be expended by the Bureau of Mines in studying the utilization of North Dakota lignite in the manufacture of hydrogen that could be used in the production of sponge iron from low grade ores of Minnesota.OBJECT OF INVESTIGATIONThe investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Mines to ""determine the workability of the proposed bubble-hearth process and its possible use in connection with an experimental plant for the gasification of lignite being operated by the Coal Division of the Bureau of Mines at Grand Forks, North Dakota.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis report is one of many on various aspects of the Bureau of Mines program directed toward the more effective utilization of our mineral resources.Investigations of our mineral resources are conducted by the Mining Branch, L. B. Moon, chief, and by the Metallurgical Branch, O. C. Ralston, chief.The scope of the report falls in the province of the Metallurgical Branch, whose activities embrace the separation of difficulty beneficiated ores, the production of pure metals from domestic deposits, the exploration of marginal ore reserves, the recovery of secondary metals, and the improvement of present industrial metallurgical practice."

Jun 1, 1947

By W. H. Kerns

The Taylor Creek lead-zinc deposit is on Taylor Creek, approximately 1-1/2 miles from tidewater, at the head of Duncan Canal, on the east side of Kupreanof Island, Petersburg district, southeastern Alaska. The property was located in 1903, and a 30-foot discovery cut was put to the west tank of the creek. Very little prospecting end developing has been done since that time. The property was examined by J. C. Roehm, associate mining engineer, Territorial Department of Mines, Juneau, Alaska, in June 1946. From exposure n the creek, a mineralized zone with possible dimensions of 1,700 feet by 1,000 feet was indicated. The general strike was northwest, and the dip was low and variable to the northwest. During September through November 1948, the Bureau of Mines conducted a project on the property. Four diamond-drill holes, totaling 770.5 linear feet, were drilled from the surface and 280 lineal feet of hand trenching done. The mineral deposit was found to occur as patches that appear to be a replacement in dolomitic limestone. The patches of mineralization are small, irregularly shaped, and irregularly distributed. Maps showing the location of the drill holes and trenches, analyses of the cores from the drill holes, and anal lee of the samples from the trenches accompany this report (see, also, appendixes A, B, and C).

Jan 1, 1950

By R. V. Ramani

This report is volume 1 of an eleven-volume final report for a Grant completed by The Pennsylvania State University for the Bureau of Mines to develop a dynamic general purpose computer simulation model for underground coal mining. The simulator developed under the Grant has a wide range of possible applications in the design and evaluation of underground coal mining systems from the standpoints of health and safety, productivity, and mine environment. The Master Design Simulator consists of nine free-standing function-oriented subsystem models linked together into an integrated, comprehensive model of an entire mining system. The subsystems comprising the Master Design Simulator include geology and reserves, methane generation, roof support, subsidence, production, rail haulage, cost, water generation, and ventilation. This volume of the final report contains a statement of the purpose and scope of work of the Grant, and provides an overview of the Master Design Simulator with a brief description of each subsystem. Also included is a discussion of several areas of application for the simulator.

Jan 1, 1975

By Thomas M. Barczak, David P. Conover

Longwall shields provide essential ground control in longwall mining, yet a high percentage of shields are operating at less than peak capacity and many at well below the rated support capacity due to defective hydraulic cylinders or malfunctions in other hydraulic components. Leg pressure data are currently collected on state-of-the-art longwall shields, but typically are not analyzed to evaluate shield performance. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Shield Hydraulics Inspection and Evaluation of Leg Data (SHIELD) program is a Visual Basic software system that is designed to analyze leg pressure data and identify shields that are not performing to rated specifications. The program analysis is configured to detect the following conditions: (1) loss of leg pressure, (2) imbalance in leg pressure, (3) low set pressure, (4) low yield pressure, and (5) full extension of the bottom stage. Other performance assessment measures include the percentage of the support capacity utilized (ratio of peak load to yield load), the percent of time that a shield operates at yield load, the ratio of the set load to the yield load, and the amount of support capacity that is lost due to leaking cylinders. Historical record keeping will allow the user to select a particular shield and review the performance record as developed by the program for that shield. In addition to these performance assessment measures, the software will include an animated description of shield hydraulic systems that will describe the operation and significance of each hydraulic component and the impact of component failures on the shield’s capability to provide the required roof support. A general overview of the SHIELD program is provided in the paper together with an example analysis of a 2.5-year-old Australian longwall face.

Assess the technical feasibility of mining small and/or deeply buried frozen placer deposits from the surface through boreholes.

Jan 1, 1997

By R. H. Storch

"A preliminary examination of the Bi-Metallic molybdenum prospect was made in October 1944, as a result of which it was recommended that a trench exploration project be undertaken on the property. This report presents the information obtained from project work done during June 1945.In its program of exploration of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Lanes has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to the national security and. economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the facts developed by each exploratory project as soon as practicable after its conclusion. The Mining Branch, Lowell B. Moon, chief, conducts preliminary examinations, performs the actual exploratory work, and prepares the final report. The Metallurgical Branch, R. G. Knickerbocker, chief, analyzes samples and performs beneficiation tests. Both these branches are under the supervision of Dr. R. S. Dean, assistant director.With respect to this report, special acknowledgment is due S. H. Lorain, chief, Albany Division, Mining Branch, for aid in preparing the report.The property is situated in the NW1/4, sec. 26, T. 39 N., R. 29 E. about 21 miles northeast of Tonasket. Tonasket (population 643), the nearest town, is a way point on a branch line of the Great Northern Railway. The prospect is reached by a good gravel road through Havillah to Vincent's ranch, about 3 miles northeast of Havillah. From the ranch, an abandoned dirt road extends to the portal of the Moly alit, about 1 mile distant. The mine road could be kept open without difficulty if properly graded and surfaced."

Aug 1, 1946

By C. W. Owings

"Ventilation is one of the most important features of coal mining, and if a mine is exceptionally gassy it is often difficult to ventilate it in such a way as to make it safe. The general system of splitting the main air current so that two, three, or more sets of room entries are ventilated by the same current of air does not provide a safe method if non-permissible electrical equipment, such as cable-reel, crab-reel, or trolley locomotives are used on gathering haulage, or if open-type hoist or pump motors are used. The problem has been greatly simplified at the Crucible mine of the Crucible Fuel Co. at Crucible, Pennsylvania.The system is not only applicable to the room-and-pillar method of mining, but it may be adopted for any panel system of mining. There also appears to be a definite application in mechanized mining, where the rapid extraction often results in inadequate attention to ventilation and where the gassiness of the section generally increases because, as compared to hand loading, the methane has less time to drain off. The system to be described should commend itself to coal-mining men.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis investigation was made possible through the courtesy of H. J. Nelms, general superintendent. E. M. Marshall, safety inspector, E. G. Sauers, assistant superintendent, and Thomas Mark, mine foreman, assisted in the collection of information."

Sep 1, 1931

By Chi-Mun Song, Seok-Hyun Choi, Seok-In Hong, Han-Kee Jang

Accurate measurement and evaluation of hand-transmitted vibration from a power tool is an important issue for tool manufacturers, because they are obliged to develop low-hazard power tools for workers. The International Standard ISO 5349(1) dictates a systematic procedure for the measurement and evaluation of hand-transmitted vibration. However, the uncertainty in this measurement is too large for manufacturers to apply such data to the design and modification of power tools. There can be several sources of this uncertainty in such measurements; e.g., operator-dependent, power tool-dependent, and operational conditions (see Table 1). For a manufacturer to characterize the exposure of a power tool’s use to a given level of vibration, the relationship between these uncertainty factors and the measured vibration must be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effect of several factors on the uncertainty in measurements. [ ] Methods In this study, some of the factors in Table 1 were selected for examination, and their effect on the measured variation was quantitatively investigated. Three tools from the same manufacturer were sampled at random in our experiments, and each of five of the same type of insert (disks or tips) was installed into each tool. Although each of the tools and inserts were of the same design and were made by the same production process, they differed from one to another, which can be a source of the variation in the measured vibration. Three human subjects participated in our experiments, which were carried out as stated in ISO 5349. The subjects were asked to maintain their posture, and the applied force was kept as constant as possible. The applied force was monitored using an indirect method, where vibration energy was displayed in real time during the experiment using a three-axis accelerometer attached to the work piece at a specified point. The appropriate range of the applied force was predetermined to cover the range of real work operations. The engineering tolerance between the inner diameter of a grit disk and the outer diameter of the tool shaft leads to an eccentricity of the mass at the center of the disk. The degree of eccentricity varies with installation, and this is another source of uncertainty. In our study, the effect of this eccentricity was investigated by carrying out repeated assembly and disassembly of an insert.

Jan 6, 2006

By Jérôme Boutin, Rémy Oddo, Sylvain Ouellette, Paul-Émile Boileau, Gilles LeBlanc, Pierre Marcotte

ackleg rock drills are widely used in the mining industry and are known to generate high levels of hand-arm vibration which contribute to the development of the hand-arm vibration syndrome for exposed miners.1-3 To reduce the vibration levels, a prototype of an antivibration handle was developed as part of a previous study.4 To provide some bench marking for this handle prototype and to follow the evolution of its performance over time, a test bench was developed to characterize the vibration emission values of jackleg drills under controlled operating conditions. As the current ISO 8662 series of standards could not apply directly to this type of tool, there was a need to design and validate a test bench to evaluate the vibration emission values of jackleg drills, while taking into account the conditions specific to the operation of this type of tool. Methods A test bench including an energy absorber, was developed for testing jackleg drills based on the ISO 8662-3 standard 5. The energy absorber was bolted to a 3300 kg concrete block to ensure tool stability. A pictorial view of the device is given in Figure 1. For validation purposes, acceleration measurements at the handle of a conventional jackleg drill were taken simultaneously along the three axes (xh, yh and zh) in an underground rock drilling operation as well as on the test bench. The handle accelerations were measured for three different jackleg angles (13º, 28º and 43º) determined with respect to the floor. Moreover, each measurement was repeated at least three times to asses the data repeatability. [ ] Results As a preliminary validation of the test bench, Figure 2 provides a comparison of the frequency weighted rms acceleration spectrum measured along the zh-axis, for both underground drilling and operation on the test bench (28º jackleg angle in both cases). It is shown that the vibration measured on the handle of a jackleg drill operating on the test bench is representative of that recorded during typical rock drilling operations, despite the fact that some harmonics of the percussion frequencies are generated with a higher amplitude on the test bench. Table 1 provides

Jan 6, 2006

The XVIth International Conference on Coal Mine Safety Research was divided into eight half-day technical sessions. In accord with the established practice of these conferences, at each session, presentation of the papers was followed by a discussion period. Questions and comments submitted in writing to the session chairman were answered or discussed by the authors of the relevant papers or by their representatives. These discussions were tape-recorded in the original language of the speaker and subsequently translated into English when necessary. Questions to which no answer was available at the time and a few comments that exceeded the scope of the session have been omitted.

Jan 1, 1975

By H. C. Verakis, M. L. Harris, M. J. Sapko, K. L. Cashdollar

In underground mines, coal dust explosions are prevented by the addition of rock dust sufficient to render the coal dust inert. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed a hand-held instrument that uses optical reflectance to measure the explosibility of a rock dust and coal dust mixture. This instrument is called the Coal Dust Explosibility Meter (CDEM). In this study, NIOSH personnel accompanied Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors on their routine band surveys in five and three underground coal mines in MSHA District 2 (PA) and District 11 (AL), respectively. While underground, NIOSH personnel and MSHA inspectors used the CDEM to assess the explosibilities of the dust samples. The values of percent incombustible content (% IC) determined by the CDEM agreed well with those obtained later by low temperature ashing (LTA) in both MSHA and NIOSH laboratories. Further, the meter identified some samples as potentially explosible that LTA analysis had found to possess sufficient rock dust for inerting. The CDEM provides more information on the hazards in the mine. Rapid identification of areas with explosible dust mixtures using the CDEM allows for immediate intervention rather than a wait of several weeks for laboratory analysis.

By Britt H. Hatfield, Jiu-Chiuan Chen, Wen-Ruey Chang, David C. Christiani

Occupational exposures to whole-body vibration (WBV) at different frequency domains may differentially affect human comfort and the musculoskeletal system. Under this presumption, a frequency-based weighting scheme has been adapted in many widely accepted standards for WBV measurement. However, there is very little human data showing a direct link between WBV frequency and musculoskeletal disorders. We conducted an epidemiologic study to examine the association between WBV frequency and prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and to identify determinants of specific frequencies associated with LBP in urban taxi drivers. Methods The WBV frequency data were collected from 247 professional drivers (aged 44.6±8.3) who participated in an exposure validation study 1 of the Taxi Drivers’ Health Study (TDHS) in 2000. 2 In accordance with the ISO 2631-1 (1997) methods, we measured the frequency-weighted acceleration over drivers’ seat surface, under conditions representing randomly assigned destinations. We developed a WBV record-replay system at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute (LMRI) in Hopkinton, MA, USA. This system includes two tri-axial accelerometers (PCB Piezotronics, NY, USA), one RD-130T PCM data recorder (TEAC, Tokyo, Japan), and one LMWBV meter 2.0 (LMRI, MA, USA). Only the vertical axis of seat-surface WBV frequency was used in this study. To characterize the WBV frequency curve, we manually identified the presence of any peak within each of the following frequency range: <4, 4-10, 10-20, and >20 Hz. Information about the operating vehicles and driving environment was either collected from the vehicle registration record (manufacturer, year of make, transmission, engine size, etc.) or directly measured (wheel-base length, seat inclination, etc.). Structured interviews were conducted by an occupational physician to gather information on LBP that had led to medical attention or absence from driving in past year. We used multiple logistic regression to estimate the prevalence odds ratio (OR) associated with the presence of each index peak frequency, adjusting for age, body mass index, professional seniority, daily driving hours, seat inclination, and the intensity of predicted root-mean-square WBV exposure in m/sec2. For any revealed WBV frequency that was associated with LBP, we constructed a multiple logistic regression model to identify the personal and vehicle characteristics associated with the presence of WBV peak within the indicated frequency range.

Jan 6, 2006

The Appalachian Mountains divide Pennsylvania into two distinct coal regions, bituminous and anthracite. The western region of the the state, where the majority of bituminous mines are located, is characterized by mountains and gently rolling hills. Bituminous coal seams underlie about 12,000 square miles in 28 counties. The anthracite coal region, located in the northeast, covers approximately 3,300 square miles. This area contains more than 20 different coal beds that vary in thickness from a few inches to 50 or 60 feet. The anthracite region is characterized by steeply pitching seams that require highly specialized mining techniques and present unique challenges for solving problems such as the mine subsidence associated with abandoned underground anthracite mines. For more than a century, coal has played a major role in the economic and industrial development of Pennsylvania, particularly the steel industry. Estimated bituminous reserves total 23 billion tons, or 5.3 percent of U.S. reserves, and anthracite reserves total 7.1 billion tons, or 97 percent of U.S. anthracite reserves. Pennsylvania received conditional approval of its regulatory program July 31, 1982. Pennsylvania&apos;s Abandoned Mine Land Program was approved on the same date.

Jan 1, 1992