Determining the Root Causes of Flame Cutting and Welding Fires in Underground U.S. Coal Mines

Details

• Journal Article:
  Proceedings of the National Coal Show, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 13-15, 2006
• Personal Author:
  Monaghan, William D. ; Brune, Jürgen F. ; Smith, Alex C.
• Description:
  One of the predominant causes of fires in underground coal mines is flame cutting and welding. These fires can lead to major events, such as the explosion that occurred on January 22, 2003, in an air shaft being constructed at the McElroy Mine near Moundsville, WV. Six contract employees were inside the shaft at the time of the explosion, and the explosion fatally injured three of the miners and seriously injured the other three. Understanding the root causes of these fires and explosions will help prevent these types of events from occurring in the future. Fires and explosions require fuel, oxygen, and an ignition source (heat). These three items are referred to as a fire triangle. The control of these three items in flame cutting and welding operations is required to prevent fires and/or explosions. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Reports of Investigation, MSHA Mine Accident Reports, and the MSHA Mining Industry Accident, Injuries, Employment, and Production Database were analyzed, and interviews and observations with mine workers and welders were conducted to determine the root causes of coal mine fires and explosions caused by flame cutting and welding operations. This paper discusses the root causes and potential means to reduce the number of fires and resulting fatalities and injuries caused by or due to flame cutting and welding. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Hazardous Substances Mining Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Mining-industry; Underground-mining; Coal-mining; Safety-research; Injuries; Hazards; Welding; Mine-fires; Explosions; Fire-hazards; Mine-workers; Miners; Burns; Hand-injuries; Eye-injuries; Safety-glasses; Personal-protective-equipment; Gloves
• Source:
  Proceedings of the National Coal Show, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 13-15, 2006. Denver, CO: Mining Media, Inc., 2006 Jun; :1-9
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  Mining Media, Inc
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRL - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  9 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030586
• Contact Point Address:
  NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methane (CAS RN 74-82-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Traumatic Injuries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e20f17e0ae9e384f4b507a6016777bdcf23423f5a0006e9f978fa53acde96bdab77b8de7f1116f03636778aac387adeeeefb4e64fcd386b1bb54fd68933ac45a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/8685/cdc_8685_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 245.45 KB ]