Report of Investigations 9572: A Comparison of Mine Fire Sensors

Details

• Journal Article:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, RI 9572
• Personal Author:
  Conti, Ronald S. ; Litton, Charles D.
• Description:
  This U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) report discusses the results of research conducted in the USBM experimental mine at its Lake Lynn Laboratory to determine the alarm times of smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) sensors, and a point type heat sensor (PTHS) to slowly developing coal-conveyor belt fires. The tests were conducted at air velocities of 0.44 and 0.97 m/s. The data clearly indicate that smoke sensors provide earlier warning of fire than 10 ppm CO sensors, and that 10 ppm CO sensors provide earlier warning than PTHS. A success rate of 1.0 (indicating detection of every test fire) was obtained for both smoke and CO sensors. For the PTHS, the success rate was 0.57 at the lower air velocity, decreasing to 0 at the higher air velocity. Data are also presented showing the sequence of fire events and detection events at the two air velocities as a function of time. Results show that early detection and warning of underground mine fires will improve the probability of miners' escape. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Body Fluids Coal Coal Mining Emergencies Fires Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Humidity Mining Occupational Health Safety Temperature

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• Keywords:
  Mining-industry; Underground-mining; Mine-fires; Fire-detection; Coal-mining
• Source:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, RI 9572, 1995 Jan; :1-10
• Series:
  Mining Publications   ; NIOSH Numbered Publications  
• Subseries:
  Report of Investigations
• ISSN:
  1066-5552
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRC - Pittsburgh Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  16 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022706
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB96-115233
• Contact Point Address:
  Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• NORA Priority Area:
  Other Occupational Concerns
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b519c1f9e057269cec2826be77f7e70aefad1d9c2636a43b84ba74eb63126603f39dff067c4658980733f28689d438853d4b529b930119dc2476ebef4f14046e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/9525/cdc_9525_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 436.30 KB ]