Coal Age

JUL 2015

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It is the scenario no one wants to see hap- pen: a mine emergency with miners trapped underground, perhaps injured. What happens first, what is the plan? Every minute that passes is crucial, as we have learned from the past. Preparation is key in such instances, as is consistent and clear communica- tions, and the best way to achieve both is planning and practice. Enter the increased interest in mock drills, which themselves are getting a boost from ever- changing technology. O n A p r i l 8 , o n e s u c h d r i l l w a s c o n - d u c t e d t h a t c o u l d c h a n g e t h e f a c e o f t h e m i n e r e s c u e : a m i n e e m e r g e n c y r e s p o n s e d r i l l , o r M E R D , a t C O N S O L Energy's Harvey mine in southwestern Pennsylvania that incorporated a new underground wireless communications s y s t e m t o t r a n s m i t v o i c e i n r e a l t i m e along with video and data between the underground incident area and a surface c o m m a n d c e n t e r a n d a m o b i l e c o m - mand trailer. By midmorning, a group of miners simulating an emergency situation were in place and video was successfully being sent to the mine office command center staffed by Consol officials as well as members of the state's Special Medical Response Team (SMRT), which exists under the umbrella of Pennsylvania's Department of Deep Mine Safety. A SMRT physician, part of the team's collection of medical and emergency experts, headed up instruction as mem- bers of eight of CONSOL's mine rescue teams began their trips to the section where the simulated emergency was staged (the Bailey, Enlow Fork, Buchanan and Harvey mine rescue teams partici- pated in this exercise) some 2,000 ft inby. Just outside of the mine office, posi- tioned beside a throng of emergency vehicles, was Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) mobile com- mand center, where federal officials were able to monitor gas levels and other sys- tems underground along with tracking the movements of the rescue teams. By noon, using the technology incor- porated in what MSHA Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph Main has already called a "game changer" for the mining industry, the mock emergency — which involved a miner trapped beneath a vehicle after a jack failed — was successfully responded to and all simulated injuries remedied. Surface personnel were gratified by the success of the exercise as well as the sys- tem's performance. Getting the Tech to Now According to Main, the system — the technology within has been developed by Innovative Wireless Technologies (IWT) — is the result of work the two first col- laborated on in 2010, when the agency kicked off efforts to find and remedy "gaps" in the nation's mine emergency preparedness. In the years that have followed, the initiative has attained notable headway, including direct communication technol- ogy that brings together the surface with those underground; new mapping tech- nology that allows the command center and other rescuers to watch the progress of the advancing rescue team in real time; new atmospheric monitoring technology featuring sensors that can be left at loca- tions in the mine as rescuers move for- ward, or are forced to retreat, that will continue to transmit data; and also upgraded MSHA command centers 38 www.coalage.com July 2015 d i s a s t e r t r a i n i n g A Life-saving Response B Y D O N N A S C H M I D T , F I E L D E D I T O R MSHA, partners test new mine emergency operations response system at CONSOL's Harvey mine Mine rescuers tend to an injured miner during the MERD. In case of a mine emergency, contact the MSHA reporting hotline within 15 minutes at 1-800-746-1553

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