The Outburst can be defined as a sudden release of coal and rock accompanied by large quantities of gas into the underground coal mine workings which represents a major hazard in underground coal mines. Gas drainage has been proven to be successful in reducing outburst hazards by decreasing the in-situ gas pressure. One of aspect of gas drainage from coal seams is coal matrix volume changes. Cu...

BACKGROUND The present study was conducted to investigate the probable changes in blood pressure of workers in coal mines. METHODS In this study 91 workers, who worked in forwarding, preparation and exploitation units of coal mines and were in direct contact with carbon dioxide gas (from fireworks), have been selected as the case group, and 70 workers, who did not have direct contact with thi...

At the northern tip of Colombia, Jonathan Bloch hunts for fossils in the midst of spontaneous combustion fires, noxious gases laced with foul-smelling sulfur, rock-shattering explosions, and some of the largest machines in the world. “It is a weird place to work,” Bloch admits, an associate curator of vertebrate paleontology at the FloridaMuseum of Natural History, although he says he feels saf...

Recent NIOSH published information has shown an increase of rapidly progressive coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) in the southern Appalachian coal region (SAR) of the U.S., despite the fact that compliance data indicates that most coal miners have been exposed to coal mine dust concentrations below the statutory limit of 2.0 mg/m3. While the exact cause of these elevated CWP levels in the SAR ...

Mining operations and mineral-related industries are closely and directly related with the environment. The negative impacts of mining industry on the environment, known as environmental risks, must be controlled and managed in a way to minimize harmful and destructive effects. Environmental risk assessment studies are a suitable step to identify, analyze and rank the risk factors. In this stud...

This study investigates the risky positioning behaviour of underground coal mine employees, specifically the behaviour of drivers of remote controlled continuous miners. The patterns of behaviour of these employees are of particular interest, not only because of a series of fatal accidents in New South Wales coal mines with such equipment, but also because of the lack of scientific enquiry of r...

Methane gas emission, accumulation, and explosion are the most important risk factors in underground coal mines. Hence, having a knowledge of methane gas emission potential in underground coal mines is of crucial importance in preventing the explosion risk, loss of life, and property, and providing miners' safety. The purpose of this work is to provide the prediction maps for the C1, C2, and B2...

Knowledge of in situ stresses is fundamental to many studies in earth sciences, and coal mine ground control is no exception. During the past 20 years, it has become clear that horizontal stress is a critical factor affecting roof stability in underground coal mines. The theory of plate tectonics and the World Stress Map (WSM) project has been extremely helpful in explaining the sources and the...

Tabas mines in Iran have coal sources which are suitable for use in metallurgy industries as coking coal. But the high sulfur content of this coal imposes severe limitations on its utilization as the sulfur oxide gases evolved from the combustion of high sulfur coals result in acid rains and corrosion of equipments. In this work, attempts have been made to reduce sulfur from high sulfur coa...

Distribution, abundance, habitat selection, and activity of bats in Wayne National Forest, Ohio, were studied during the winters and summers of 1979 and 1980. Methods included winter surveys of abandoned mines and mist netting of riparian sites in summer. Four species of bats were found hibernating in 23 of 65 coal mine shafts examined, and big brown bats, Epteskus fuscus, were most abundant. M...