Mine Refuge

The Strata Airdoc Change over station

The Strata AIRDOC Change-Over Station is a transitional station that offers miners a non-toxic environment in which to rest, recover and exchange SCSR  (Self-contained rescue device = portable oxygen source) units during evacuation of the mine. In an emergency; it's a transitional station that offers the miners a non toxic environment in which to rest recover and exchange SCSR  units during evacuation of the mine.   


It is important to remember that: not all the mines have a refuge like this one and sometimes the evacuation must be ASAP = no time for get into the refuge to change SCSR. the good thing about this is: this is a station where the help is immediately.  

Some Mine Rescue Personal Equipment

Self-contained self-rescuer escape devices for environments containing smoke or lacking oxygen.

Self-contained self-rescuer escape devices for environments containing smoke or lacking oxygen. 

SSS-1PV is a self-rescuer designed for individual breathing protection in case of emergency in areas with unsuitable for inhalation atmosphere.

SSS-1PV is a modified version of SSS-1, one of the most wide spread self-rescuers in the world. 

SSS-1PV is produced in plastic cover that allows to increase lifetime keeping such advantages of the basic model as high reliability and small weight. 

Due to the circular air system SSS-1PV guarantees excellent breating conditions.

Self-contained self-rescuer escape devices for environments containing smoke or lacking oxygen.

This machines are a self-rescuer device with oxygen respirator and booster compressors and chemical gas detector. 3 different styles but same functionality.

Classification of the mines accidents (written)

This accident classification identifies the circumstances which contributed most directly to the resulting accident. The accident may or may not be directly tied to any resulting injury.


ELECTRICAL - Accidents in which electric current is most directly responsible for the resulting accident.
ENTRAPMENT - In accidents involving no injuries or nonfatal injuries which are not serious, entrapment of mine workers takes precedence over roof falls, explosives accidents, inundations, etc. If a roof fall results in an entrapment accident, the accident classification is “Entrapment.”


EXPLODING VESSELS UNDER PRESSURE - These are accidents caused by explosion of air hoses, air tanks, hydraulic lines, hydraulic hoses, and other accidents precipitated by exploding vessels.
EXPLOSIVES AND BREAKING AGENTS - Accidents involving the detonation of manufactured explosives, Airdox, or Cardox, that can cause flying debris, concussive forces, or fumes.
FALLING, ROLLING, OR SLIDING ROCK OR MATERIAL OF ANY KIND -Injuries caused directly by falling material require great care in classification. Remember that it is the accident we want to classify. If material was set in motion by machinery, haulage equipment, or hand tools, or while material is being handled or disturbed, etc., charge the force that set the material in motion. For example, where a rock was pushed over a highwall by a dozer and the rock hit another rock which struck and injured a worker - charge the accident to the dozer. Charge the accident to that which most directly caused the resulting accident. Without the dozer, there would have been no resulting accident. This includes accidents caused by improper blocking of equipment under repair or inspection.
FALL OF FACE, RIB, SIDE OR HIGHWALL - Accidents in this classification include falls of material (from in-place) while barring down or placing props; also pressure bumps and bursts. Since pressure bumps and bursts which cause accidents are infrequent, they are not given a separate category. Not included are accidents in which the motion of machinery or haulage equipment caused the fall either directly or by knocking out support; such accidents are classified as machinery or haulage, whichever is appropriate.
FALL OF ROOF OR BACK - Underground accidents which include falls while barring down or placing props; also pressure bumps and bursts. Not included are accidents in which the motion of machinery or haulage equipment caused the fall either directly or by knocking out support; such falls are classified as machinery or haulage, whichever is appropriate.
FIRE - In underground mines, an unplanned fire not extinguished within 10 minutes of discovery; in surface mines and surface areas of underground mines, an unplanned fire not extinguished within 30 minutes of discovery;
HANDLING MATERIAL - (Lifting, pulling, pushing, shoveling material.) The material may be in bags or boxes, or loose sand, coal, rock, timber, etc. The accident must have been most directly caused by handling material.
HAND TOOLS - Accidents related to non-powered tools when being used as hand tools. Do not include electric tools or air-powered tools.
HOISTING - Damage to hoisting equipment in a shaft or slope which endangers an individual or interferes with use of the equipment for more than 30 minutes. Hoisting may also be the classification where a victim was injured by hoisting equipment but there was no damage to the equipment. Accidents involving cages, skips, buckets, or elevators. The accident results from the action, motion, or failure of the hoisting equipment or mechanism. Included is equipment such as derricks and cranes only when used in shaft sinking; suspended work platforms in shafts; mine cars being lowered or raised by hoisting equipment on slopes or inclines; a skip squeezed between timbers resulting in an accident; or an ore bucket tipped for any reason causing an accident. 


IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST - Accidents resulting as a consequence of the ignition or explosion of gas or dust. Included are exploding gasoline vapors, space heaters, or furnaces.

Methane Ignition - A methane ignition occurs when methane burns without producing destructive forces. Damage resulting from an ignition is limited to that caused by flame and heat. Personnel in the immediate vicinity of an ignition may be burned and line brattice or other materials in close proximity may be discolored, melted or burned. Ignitions generally involve small quantities of methane and are usually confined to a small area; however, in the case of methane roof layering, flame spread may be more extensive. Methane Explosion - A methane explosion occurs when methane is ignited and burns violently. The flame of the explosion accelerates rapidly, heating the environment and causing destructive forces. Evidence of the destructive forces may be manifest on victims, equipment, structures, etc. Witnesses to an explosion may hear the noise generated by the resulting sound pressure wave.

IMPOUNDMENT - An unstable condition at an impoundment, refuse pile, or culm bank which requires emergency action in order to prevent failure, or which causes individuals to evacuate an area. Also the failure of an impoundment, refuse pile, or culm bank.
FLOOD - An unplanned inundation of a mine by a liquid or gas. The mine may be either a surface or underground operation.
MACHINERY - Accidents that result from the action or motion of machinery or from failure of component parts. Included are all electric and air-powered tools and mining machinery such as drills, tuggers, slushers, draglines, power shovels, loading machines, compressors, etc. Include derricks and cranes except when they are used in shaft sinking (see HOISTING) or mobile cranes traveling with a load (see POWERED HAULAGE).
NON-POWERED HAULAGE - Accidents related to motion of non-powered haulage equipment. Included are accidents involving wheelbarrows, manually pushed mine cars and trucks, etc.
POWERED HAULAGE - Haulage includes motors and rail cars, conveyors, belt feeders, longwall conveyors, bucket elevators, vertical manlifts, self-loading scrapers or pans, shuttle cars, haulage trucks, front-end loaders, load-haul- dumps, forklifts, cherry pickers, mobile cranes if traveling with a load, etc. The accident is caused by the motion of the haulage unit. Include accidents that are caused by an energized or moving unit or failure of component parts. If a car dropper suffers an injury as a result of falling from a moving car, charge the accident to haulage.
SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON - Includes slips or falls from an elevated position or at the same level while getting on or off machinery or haulage equipment that is not moving. Also includes slips or falls while servicing or repairing equipment or machinery. Includes stepping in a hole.
STEPPING OR KNEELING ON OBJECT - Accidents are classified in this category only where the object stepped or kneeled on contributed most directly to the accident. 
STRIKING OR BUMPING - This classification is restricted to those accidents in which an individual, while moving about, strikes or bumps an object but is not handling material, using hand tools, or operating equipment. 

Machinery & Powered Haulage

machinery

This accident can happen because of the bad maintenance of the machinery or bad use of this one, it is not the most usual accident on mines (specially in high class mines) but the possibility of happening is always there.
Machinery and Powered haulage procedures are the same, so I include it into this category. 
This kind of accident can be very interesting for my degree project because it has to do to much with Atlas Copco and machinery, the thing in here is: Now I am focus in something that rescue miners in stead  to get them safe, but after research is going to be very good an evaluation of the relevance of this project.

Handling material

Handling material

Because of the bad use of the machinery, a slip or just a simple oversight this accident occurs 93% by the human fault. In a high percentage the victims can safe their lives but they do not come back to work as a miners. 

Explosives and breaking agents

Explosives and breaking agents

This accident has the same procedure as "Exploding vassels" but the difference is: this one occurs more often than the other, also in low cost mines.

Exploding vessels under pressure

Exploding vessels under pressure

This accident happens frequently in low-cost mines; Bad use of the machinery and tools, this one can be a little bit related in between explosions and fire.

Selection of the accidents to analyze.

All types of accidents in the mines.

In this page I got all the accidents but only I'm gonna describe those which has a mark (camera logo) on it, because the others do not represent much significance to analyze them.

I only marked 8 of them and gonna see my opportunities on each one for this project.

Slid of fall person

Slid of fall person

This accident happens more often in low cost mines because of the bad use of the equipment, frequently this accident occurs only to 1 person and the injures can be helped by the mine´s doctor (does not require to be transfer to the hospital), the sequence is simple and the procedure as well.

Ignition or explosions (gas or dust)

ignition or explosion

Explosions are fatal because in 99% there is not survivors and there's nothing else to do, just pick up the death bodies, in some exceptional cases they have found some people alive!
In my previous chats with people related with this topic, this is one example of an easy rescue because of there's not to much to save!

Flooding

Flooding accident

This flooding description is very rare case in mines, it can be caused by the bad use of the machines or their bad maintenance, no much people get injured but some of them the just got trapped, this case happens in low cost mines rarely in modern mines. 

Fire Diagram

Fire procedure diagram

This is one of the most important accidents inside of the mines because of they can not call the fight fitters to come and put off the fire, they have to do it by themselves and if there's some people trapped inside of flames they have to try to get rid of the fire before they can rescue them; in most part of the cases when is a big fire they have to close the area trying to consume all oxygen in the area to extinguish it in a natural way, but this implies that the victims can not breath and the possibilities to survive are less and less. If this fire is generated by electricity they should use chemicals to combat it.
In this type of accidents all mine is immediately.

Falling, Rolling or Sliding rock or material

Falling, Rolling or Sliding rock

This is an example what I am doing all the procedures for all the 19 different accidents; This one can have other variations but I trust it is going to be a very good reference to analyze them during the next week.
This is one of the most common accidents in low cost mines, means: most part of them in undeveloped countries, but in high standard mines it only happens 3% inappropriate use of the machines and bad procedure during the process.

Mines Accidents (classification)

Type of accidents (when and where they happen)

- Electrical.

- Entrapment.

- Exploding vessels under presure.

- Explosives & breaking agents.

- Falling, rolling or sliding rock.

- Fall roof or back.

- Fire.

- Handling material.

- Hand tools.

- Ignition or explosion (gas or dust).

- Impoundment.

- Flooding.

- Machinery.

- Non Powered haulage.

- Powered haulage.

- Slid of fall person.

- Stepping or keeling object.

- Striking or bumping.

Instead to classify all types of mines I get more focus on what kind of accidents exists and where happens? the next step is to analyze the rescue protocol during each one.


ps- I found 19 different types of accidents in the mines and I think is easier to classify then in 6 different groups; Some of then have similarities and some others can be placed in more than 2 groups at the same time because can happen for different reasons 

Kick off with Atlas Copco

Last Jan 21st, I had my kick off with Atlas Copco in Örebro; My chat with Alex Liebert (chief designer) was basically to touch base and talk more about my intentions for this project, here some important points:


- Would be great to visit a real mine in Sweden specially Kiruna because my design is going to be for swedish mines which have one of the highest safety standards.
- My past visits to the mexicans mines I will consider as a reference but not as a standards or mine's focus for this project.
- I will define what type of mine I will work for? as there's many types of mine and most part of them are different (with different accidents) would be easy to get lost with much information and don´t concentrate in a real problem.
- Atlas Copco does not work with any type of product for coal mines (when it's required they got an external assistance).
- If during my research I can´t find a relevant problem I will consider to change my direction and work in something related with the main topic, an example could be: safety in mines.
- It´s important to define that: "mines rescue" also implies machines or products to get into the area where the people is trapped .
- Current safety products would be included as a part of my research.
- It´s important to highlight that: low cost mines have low cost machinery and most part of the cases they do not invest much in safety programs or products.


The conclusion of this visit is: was good to hear what they think specially from the people involved in the business and see what´s my challenge for this project, my advantages and disadvantages, also meet up with the guys there was very nice, little bit of deyabú when I step my foot into the office, feels like I was there less than one year ago when I did my internship there.