Mine rescue is the very specialized job of rescuing miners and others who have become trapped or injured underground in
mineMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash...
s because of
mining accidentA mining accident is an accident that occurs in the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the process of coal mining and hard rock mining...
s and
disasterA disaster is the tragedy of a natural or human-made hazard that negatively affects society or environment....
s such as
explosionAn explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
s caused by
firedampFiredamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is actually the name given to a number of flammable gases, including methane. It is particularly commonly found in areas where the coal is bituminous....
, roof falls or floods.
Mining laws in developed countries require trained, properly-equipped mine rescue personnel to be available at all mining operations at both
surfaceOpen-pit mining, also known as open-cast mining, open-cut mining, and strip mining, refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....
and
underground miningUnderground mining may refer to:*Underground mining *Underground mining...
operations. These personnel make up what is known as a "Mine rescue team".
Mine rescue is the very specialized job of rescuing miners and others who have become trapped or injured underground in
mineMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash...
s because of
mining accidentA mining accident is an accident that occurs in the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the process of coal mining and hard rock mining...
s and
disasterA disaster is the tragedy of a natural or human-made hazard that negatively affects society or environment....
s such as
explosionAn explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
s caused by
firedampFiredamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is actually the name given to a number of flammable gases, including methane. It is particularly commonly found in areas where the coal is bituminous....
, roof falls or floods.
Expert volunteers
Mining laws in developed countries require trained, properly-equipped mine rescue personnel to be available at all mining operations at both
surfaceOpen-pit mining, also known as open-cast mining, open-cut mining, and strip mining, refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....
and
underground miningUnderground mining may refer to:*Underground mining *Underground mining...
operations. These personnel make up what is known as a "Mine rescue team". Mine rescue teams must know the procedures used to rescue miners trapped by various hazards, including
fireFire is the rapid oxidation of a combustible material releasing heat, light, and various reaction products such as carbon dioxide and water. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce plasma. Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the color of the flame and the...
s, explosions, cave-ins, toxic
gasThis page is about the physical properties of gas as a state of matter. For the uses of gases, and other meanings, see Gas .A gas is one of four states of matter. Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid...
,
smoke inhalationSmoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires.Smoke inhalation injury refers to injury due to inhalation or exposure to hot gaseous products of combustion...
, and water entering the mine. As mine rescue is particularly dangerous work, rescue crews are usually made up of volunteers who risk their own lives to save their fellow workers. Most mine rescue teams are composed of miners who know the particular mine, and are familiar with the various sorts of mine machinery they may encounter during the rescue, the layout of workings and geological conditions and working practices. Local and state governments may also have teams on call ready to respond to mine accidents.
Mine rescue teams are trained in
first aidFirst aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by a lay person to a sick or injured casualty until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid...
and the use of a wide variety of tools, and, in the case of underground rescues, the operation of SCBA
breathing set*Scuba set, used underwater*Rebreather, reprocesses exhaled air*Surface supplied diving, fed from the surface*Self-contained breathing apparatus, used out of water, worn by rescue workers, firefighters, and others*Spacesuit, used in space...
s (to work in passages filled with mine gases such as
firedampFiredamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. It is actually the name given to a number of flammable gases, including methane. It is particularly commonly found in areas where the coal is bituminous....
,
afterdampAfterdamp is the toxic mixture of gases left in a mine following an explosion caused by firedamp. It consists of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen. Hydrogen sulfide, another highly toxic gas, may also be present. Afterdamp was the deadly gas which caused the majority of casualties in the...
, chokedamp, and sometimes shallow submersion).
Mine rescue men have been using breathing sets almost since they were invented. Generally only the rescuers use breathing sets, but in one case where an advancing coalmine passage broke into a surface hollow full of deep liquid
peatPeat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. Peat forms in wetlandbogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests...
, flooding part of the mine (7-9 September 1950,
Knockshinnoch Castle CollieryIn September 1950 one of the worst mining accidents in the history of British coal mining occurred in the Ayrshire village of New Cumnock.For several tense days the world's media descended on the small Ayrshire mining village...
, near
New CumnockNew Cumnock is a place in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It expanded during the coal mining era but, like so many others, suffered after the deep shaft pits closed in the 1980's...
,
AyrshireAyrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the last seven...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; 13 died,
http://members.tripod.com/bob_newcumnock/knockaccident/welcomex.htm), 115 trapped miners were equipped with
Siebe Gorman SalvusThe Salvus is a light oxygen rebreather for industrial use or in shallow diving. Its duration on a filling is 30 to 40 minutes. It was very common in Britain during World War II and for a long time afterwards...
es (87 sets in all, mainly from
fire stationA fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
s) so they could be led out through gas-filled workings.
British mine rescue men for a long time used the
Siebe Gorman ProtoThe Proto is a type of rebreather that was made by Siebe Gorman. It was an industrial breathing set and not suitable for diving. It was made from probably 1914 or earlier to the 1960s or later. .Its breathing bag was worn on the chest...
, which is often seen in old group photographs. From about 1989 to 2002 onwards they used the
SEFAThe SEFA is a make of backpack industrial breathing set formerly made by Sabre Safety. It is an oxygen rebreather. "SEFA" is an acronym for "Selected Elevated Flow Apparatus".-Description:...
. They now use a Draeger
rebreatherA rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
. Narrow spaces in mines are often too tight a squeeze for bulky
open circuitThe term Open circuit may refer to:*Open-circuit voltage, the difference of electrical potential between two terminals of a device when there is no external load connected...
set cylinders.
In Britain, mine rescue teams are sometimes called to investigate holes in the ground that have appeared because of land surface
subsidenceSubsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
into old
mineshaftShaft mining or Shaft sinking refers to the method of excavating a vertical or near-vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom....
s and mine workings.
External links
- http://www.minemergency.com.au in Australia: they also help at road traffic accident rescues and in accidents in surface mines.
- http://www.minesrescue.com in Britain
- http://www.healeyhero.co.uk about Philip Healey
- http://www.heroes-of-mine.co.uk
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/features/2004/01/mine_rescue/index.shtml a BBC article
- http://www.usmra.com/teamaccidents.htm hazards of mines rescue
- http://www.usmra.com United States Mine Rescue Association
- http://www.labour.gov.sk.ca/safety/mine-rescue-manual Saskatchewan Mine Emergency Response Program.
- Welsh Coal Mines website and histories plus disasters and mines rescue