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OVERVIEW An underground mine disaster is an accident of major proportions that takes a significant toll in human lives. A disaster usually dis- rupts the normal functioning of a mine and may result in entrapment of miners whose normal egress from the mine is cut off. A disaster often necessitates a rescue operation and a means of keeping the trapped miners alive while they await rescue. Explosion, fire, inundation of water or toxic gases, and collapse of a major portion of a mine are among the causes of mine disasters. Miners threatened by such an occurence must either bring the situation under control (e.g., by extinguishing a fire) or remove themselves from the danger. If control is unsuccessful, they must retreat to a place of safety. Four different activities may be involved: evacuation, escape, survival, and rescue. Evacuation is the orderly exit of people from the mine using previously identified escapeways and following a pre- viously determined evacuation plan. Miners whose normal evacuation routes are blocked may be able to find alternative exit routes and escape by their own efforts. For those who cannot, the issue becomes survival while waiting to be rescued. The survival period may last for many days while rescue efforts are mounted from outside the mine. Development and enforcement of mine safety regulations is the province of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in the Department of Labor. That agency also has responsibility for respond- ing to mine disasters and taking charge of rescue operations if neces- sary. Research and development relating to mine safety is the responsibility of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) in the Department of the Interior. In both MSHA and USBM, the major effort is directed toward accident and disaster prevention. As a result of these agencies' efforts and those of the mining industry and the labor unions, the frequency of mine disasters has diminished in recent years. Yet disasters do continue to happen, and measures to enhance the miners' prospects for surviving a disaster continue to be necessary. The present study was undertaken by the National Research Council to advise the Bureau of Mines on the effectiveness of its post-disaster R&D program and to suggest future directions for that program. The program was begun in 1970 and has been primarily equipment-oriented. While many of the projects carried out have been technologically sound, -1-
disappointingly few results have found their way into operational practice. The committee finds that this has been caused in part by insufficient attention to the integration of individual projects into a coherent effort to achieve broad program goals, and in part by failure to draw sufficiently on the experience, perceptions, and expertise of prospective users in planning and continually reassessing research programs. From its review of the underground mine disasters of the past decade and its examination of present disaster-response capabilities, the committee has concluded that what is needed is not only new sur- vival and rescue equipment, but also more effective planning and training so that miners, mine managers, and government officials are better prepared to cope with disasters. Of particular importance are the first few minutes of a disaster, when crucial decisions must be madeâoften with incomplete information about what has happened or is happening. Modern simulation techniques could be of great value in developing and evaluating disaster plans and in training personnel. There is one piece of equipment that the committee believes would have great life-saving potential: an oxygen-providing escape breathing apparatus small enough and light enough to be carried on the miner's person. The device in present useâthe "filter self-rescuer"âdoes not provide oxygen and is effective only against carbon monoxide. The "oxygen self-rescuers" developed thus far are too large and heavy to be continuously carried or worn by miners and would have to be cached at strategic places in the mine. Development of a light, compact "oxygen self-rescuer" was urged by the National Academy of Engineering in 1970 but has not yet been accomplishedâin part because of rigid adherence to a statutory requirement that such a device provide enough oxygen to keep a miner alive for an hour. No analytic determination of the necessary time requirement for an escape breathing apparatus or of the rate of oxygen consumption typical of escape activities has been carried out. The committee believes that a systems approach integrating spe- cific equipment and procedures with disaster plans, disaster training programs, and evaluations of the effectiveness of the response to each disaster and potential disaster, would lead to improved prospects for miners surviving a catastrophic accident. The committee believes this approach should be reflected in the R&D program addressing post- disaster survival and rescue, and the majority of the recommendations offered in this report are directed toward that end. -2-
