Mine Fire Diagnostics to Locate and Monitor Abandoned Mine Fires

Details

• Personal Author:
  Justin, Thomas R. ; Kim, Ann G. ; Justin, Thomas R. ; Kim, Ann G.
• Description:
  Locating a fire in an abandoned underground coal mine or waste bank is difficult using currently available methods. The Bureau of Mines is developing a mine fire diagnostic methodology to locate and monitor such fires. The method is based upon two assumptions: (1) that measurable changes in the emission of low molecular weight hydrocarbons from coal occur as a direct result of changes in temperature, and (2) that controlling the direction of the underground gas flow between borehole sampling points provides the means for locating the source of these hydrocarbons. This mine fire diagnostic method has been applied at three field sites. It was used to define combustion zones at an abandoned underground bituminous mine at Renton, PA. At this 60-acre site, which showed several areas of venting, the technique was used to delineate three noncontiguous combustion areas totaling approximately 10 acres. It was also used to follow the progress of the extinguishment effort. At Carbondale, PA, the method was used to locate heated areas in an abandoned anthracite mine. In this test, changes in the concentration of methane during communication testing were used as the combustion indicator. The mine fire diagnostic method is currently being used to define the combustion area at an abandoned bituminous mine in Large, PA. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal-mining Mine-fires Mining-industry Monitoring-systems Underground-mining
• Series:
  Mining Publications   ; Mining Publications  
• Publisher:
  U. S, Bureau of Mines
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Conference Publications ; Proceedings ; Conference Publications ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRC - Pittsburgh Research Center ; PRC - Pittsburgh Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  348-355
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:10004844
• Citation:
  Mine Drainage and Surface Mine Reclamation. Volume II: Mine Reclamation, Abandoned Mine Lands and Policy Issues. Vol. II. Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1988 Apr; :348-355
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1988
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Mine Drainage and Surface Mine Reclamation. Volume II: Mine Reclamation, Abandoned Mine Lands and Policy Issues
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c3d7a183ac7175ea39630c5594eee47bf80c19ca000c7a179867a07c0a932cb99d3c600c05afa73565c2ecdb65703da6e32536ff5708f1ce291dfbbdd93d0269
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219611/cdc_219611_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 327.90 KB ]