Overview of Current US Longwall Gateroad Support Practices: An Update

Details

• Personal Author:
  Esterhuizen, Gabriel S. ; Sears MM ; Tulu IB
• Description:
  In 2015, 40 longwall mines provided nearly 60% of the US coal production from underground mining methods. This represents a substantial, yet gradual increase from just under 50% over the last 5 years. As a result of this increased production share, the percentage of ground fall related fatalities in longwall mines has also increased when compared to all US underground coal mines. Additionally, about 80% of ground fall related fatalities have occurred in areas where the roof was supported. In an attempt to better understand the status quo of current US longwall support practices, a sample of 21 longwall mines were visited, representing about 40% of the currently active longwall mines in 4 of the 5 major US longwall producing regions. The resulting data was obtained from a wide variety of overburden depths, geologic conditions, mining heights, ground conditions, support practices, and gateroad configurations. The data collected is reported using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The results from the research update previous efforts in classifying mining accidents and injuries as well as current support practices. This data provides a necessary background for future research aimed at further reduction of ground fall accidents and injuries. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Coal Coal Mining Mining Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accidents Author Keywords: Longwall Coal Mining Fatalities Gateroad Ground Falls Injuries Longwall Mining Mining Industry Roof Support Standing Support Underground Mines

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  2524-3462
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056107
• Citation:
  Min Metall Explor 2019 Dec; 36(6):1137-1144
• Contact Point Address:
  M. M. Sears, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 626 Cochrans Mill Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
• Email:
  msears@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ee76752a1354dadb06401012017da63def762954e8f9fe1f0541b09cff4610f63c4c548a5e1af370466d6709a82d89a4b498a46342c28c4c8538cac4b9f34ce3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/227871/cdc_227871_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.12 MB ]