Mines safetyHelping coal miners escape underground disasters

Published 18 March 2013

Recent advances in mining research and practices have improved the safety and health of underground coal miners and extensive rescue strategies are in place, but more coordinated planning and training are needed better to prepare miners to escape in the event of a mine emergency, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Recent advances in mining research and practices have improved the safety and health of underground coal miners and extensive rescue strategies are in place, but more coordinated planning and training are needed better to prepare miners to escape in the event of a mine emergency, says a new report from the National Research Council.  The report recommends essential components for improving miners’ ability to “self-escape” using available resources to remove themselves from an underground mine during an emergency.  The report does not address regulations and procedures that could prevent emergencies.

A National Academy of Sciences release reports that for self-escape, miners need working knowledge of their surroundings, appropriate equipment and technology, and effective communication and decision-making skills, said the committee that wrote the report. 

Successful self-escape is not a solo effort, and it begins well before an emergency occurs. Coordinated planning, training, technology use, and research strategies across mine operations are needed to empower mine workers with the ability to self-escape. 

Escaping during the early stages of a mine emergency is critical, and every emergency has different circumstances, resources, and physical and psychological demands,” said committee chair William Marras, professor in the integrated systems engineering department at Ohio State University, Columbus.  “Many improvements in mine safety, especially regulation, have historically followed major mine disasters.  A proactive, integrated approach is needed to improve the best chances for success.”

Marras offers the following example. When the air in a mine is contaminated with smoke or chemicals, miners are supposed to wear a portable air supply. The standard design, however, requires them to bite down on a mouthpiece to breathe, so they can’t talk.

“In an emergency situation, miners need to gather as much information as they can, as fast as they can. Sharing information is especially important, and you can’t do that if you’re wearing this mouthpiece,” he said.

The committee suggested that researchers develop breathing devices that don’t inhibit speech, as well as easy-to-use electronic communicators that double as way-finders to help miners navigate to the safest exit — along with training to make using these devices second-nature in case of emergency.

The committee identified several areas that would help improve self-escape capacity: technology, decision making, safety culture training, and existing escape-way drills.  It also recommended the following actions to promote miners’ abilities to escape an emergency:

  • Operators and federal agencies should make systematic, regular efforts to collect and analyze information from drills and escape situations and make outcomes and lessons learned available to stakeholders for future improvements.
  • Both the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) should review their operational requirements for emergency supplies of breathable air, and NIOSH should allocate funds for research and development to improve the functionality of breathable air devices.  These improved devices should resolve problems with verbal communication, device weight and size, changeover or air replenishment in toxic environments, and adequate vision.
  • NIOSH and MSHA should accelerate efforts to develop other technologies that enhance miners’ ability to escape, such as devices that improve communications among miners and between miners and the surface, real-time gas monitors, and fail-safe tracking mechanisms.
  • NIOSH and MSHA should re-examine their technology approval and certification process to ensure they are not deterring innovation in relation to self-escape technologies.
  • More research is needed to create self-escape materials, training, and protocols for effective decision making during a mine emergency.
  • Training should be developed that emphasizes mastery of competency standards rather than duration and class time.
  • NIOSH should expand their safety culture efforts to inform the mining industry.

The study was sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Office of Mine Safety and Health Research.

— Read more in Improving Self-Escape from Underground Coal Mines (National Academies Press, 2013)