Monitoring the Blind Shaft Borer Project – Oak Grove, Alabama

Details

• Personal Author:
  Amstutz RW ; Danowski R
• Description:
  In 1974, plans of the United States to obtain energy self-sufficiency included a significant increase in coal production, primarily from new underground mines in the Eastern states. The poor condition of coal shaft sinking companies was a major concern. The US Bureau of Mines perceived similarities between shaft sinking and tunnel boring and felt that a machine could be produced for faster, safer shaft sinking. In January 1975, the Robbins Co., a major producer of tunnel boring machines, submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Bureau of Mines to develop, design, build and demonstrate a Blind Shaft Borer (BSB). In June 1975, a contract was initiated to start work on a BSB. After the Department of Energy was formed, the project was transferred to their Department of Fossil Fuel. In late 1978, while the BSB was being assembled for the field trial near Oak Grove, Alabama, the DOE contracted with Williams Brothers Engineering Company to monitor the site activities and provide technical advice to the Technical Project Manager. This report reviews the BSB project prior to the field trial, describes field trial operations as observed by Williams Brothers Engineering Company personnel and provides a summary of daily activities. It also details project problems, interim efforts to resolve them, results obtained and recommendations to preclude their re-occurrence on future BSB projects. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mining Occupational Health Preceptorship Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal Mining Design ERDA/012000 Field Tests Hydraulic Equipment Materials Handling Mining Equipment Monitoring Recommendations Shaft Excavations Specifications Underground Mining

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Conference Publications ; Final Contract Report
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; Oklahoma ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRC - Pittsburgh Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:10003637
• NTIS Accession Number:
  DE82-009824
• Citation:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Contract-AC-22-80PC30155, 1982 Mar; :1-460
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• Performing Organization:
  Williams Brothers Engineering Company, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Contract AC-22-80PC30155
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bf7b547c80d1d9b6b39a568c80b6c5573c524a16cf7c52cae8502eadb877358b40b26283716dd63a01a5c37d610a5ed8df6e6df87dad67c9d5b4dc0487a67eeb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219499/cdc_219499_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 9.44 MB ]