Overview of Current US Longwall Gateroad Support Practices

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. Copyright © 2017 by SME. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Coal Coal Mining Mining Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accidents Coal Mining Fatalities Ground Falls Injuries Longwall Mining Mining Industry Underground Mines
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050059
• Citation:
  2017 SME Annual Meeting, February 19-22, 2017, Denver, Colorado, preprint 17-094. Englewood, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., 2017 Feb; :1-5
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  2017 SME Annual Meeting, February 19-22, 2017, Denver, Colorado, preprint 17-094
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f0dd1435c59813636fcadcb74d4c9190671c0f24df39b6ea1893c59503d5ba2cf947bdfc578c4b97af68b6a4a6aa77cea9105fbdd0e73978d876936babb3afbe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228446/cdc_228446_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 390.22 KB ]