Emergency Evacuations ©Mar 10, 2006 Dr. B. C. Paul

Emergency Evacuation Hazards triggering emergency evacuation –Mine Explosion –Mine Fire –Water Inundation Other conditions may call for evacuation –Loss of mine fan –Getting an order from MSHA –These not emergency in same sense

The Barricade or Evacuate Dilemma Miners can have miles of underground passages to get to surface –Do you run potentially right into a fire or stay in safety and wait for rescue Balance in past has favored barricade in a protected air supply to hold up MSHA’s March 9, 2006 Emergency Standard favors escape

MSHA’s Authority Normally adding to CFR takes years MSHA Secretary can issue an immediate temporary order by publishing it in Federal Register –Then go through hearings to make permanent –Must be able to show that immediate danger demands action.

The Change in Balance on Evacuation Old Technology –Filter Self Rescuer A chemical pack that oxidized CO to CO2 –Catches – Catalyzed reaction but required oxygen to be present –Get very hot – can blister your mouth –You can smother in lack of oxygen –No protection against other gasses (some of which can come from burning rubber belt and plastics) Telling someone to run through a fire zone armed with such a tool is likely to get people killed If fire and gases are not yet there and strong it will buy the time to protect a good air pocket

Changes over time In 1980 new regulations required mines to have Self Contained Self Rescuers for each miner (SCR) –Contained own space suit oxygen bottle with 1 hour of air –Units were big (most mines put FSR on the miners belt and a cache of SCRs near the working area) –(Units have a bad reputation for being really hard to suck air from)

Sago Mine Disaster Renewed Interest in Evacuate At least one person killed when mine blew One crew got out A second crew barricaded (took 40 hours for rescue teams to reach them –Barricade leaked and miners did not have enough oxygen – all but one died Realization that getting out is best chance at life –SCSRs provide air

ET Standards on Evacuation Mines Must have 2 SCSRs not one for everyone underground –Walk to Surface can be very long – your not riding mantrips in a mine fire (one hour often not enough oxygen – some of the miners who died in Wilburg in 1984 almost made it and ran out of air –Even if you can walk there in an hour – could you doing after running circles and chaos for 15 minutes and then do it blind through a smoke filled tunnel? –Mines with known to long walks must put at least 1 additional rescuer in a cache along the escapeway

The Panic and Rust Problem Putting on Self Rescuers is not an every day task –Tested to see how many people could easily put on a SR – most could not – they are a pain –Trained people came back after two weeks and tested them (80% could do it) –Tested after 90 days (30% could do it) Problem – skills deteriorate when not used –Many mines rescuer training is watching a video of someone putting on a rescuer

Training New training must be “hands on” – you have to physically put on a rescuer – not watch someone else do it –Over half of people who evacuated successfully had done things that would have killed them in an unfriendly atmosphere Training must include rescuer transfer –Going from FSR to SCSR or changing an SCSR No longer train once a year –Every 90 days as part of a “real evacuation drill” – you walk out for real on the escape routes and see where the back up air caches are at

The Life Line Smoke will black out all light When allowed belt air to be used on mine faces required – life line – a directional rope on escapeway New Standard calls for directional lifelines in all coal mines on both primary and secondary escapeways –Easiest version – rope has directional cone on it that points the way to the exit –Training requires people to locate and follow the line- lines

A New Emphasis Clearly new standard is biased toward getting crews out first / barricading as a secondary choice One other clarification –Regs say to call MSHA “immediately” –New standard says “Call without delay and within 15 minutes” Sago mine waited 2 hours to call MSHA and tell them their mine had blown up and they had a crew trapped underground