Mining Still a Dangerous Job
July 25 -- Coal mining accidents sound like the tragedy of a bygone era, but an accident Wednesday night that trapped a nine-man crew about 300 feet below ground is a grim reminder of how dangerous the job can be.
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration reports there have been 17 mining-related fatalities in 2002, and that fatalities have increased every year for the past three years.
Nine men were trapped in a mine Wednesday night when they punched through the wall of an abandoned neighboring mine that held as much as 60 million gallons of trapped groundwater. The men radioed news of the accident to a second crew, who were able to wade out of the mine through water that was up to their necks.
Rescuers heard the trapped men banging on a pipe around 3 a.m. Thursday, and have monitored them since then using seismic technology. Rescuers estimate it will take 18 hours to drill a 36-inch-wide hole down into the mine to extract the men.
Keeping a Distance
Regulations require companies to maintain a distance of at least 200 feet between mines. At a certain distance, set by regulators and relative to the site, miners must begin drilling a 40-foot-long hole ahead of themselves to prevent just the sort of the accident that happened Wednesday night.
There was no immediate explanation for the Somerset, Pa., accident. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary David Hess hinted today that Black Wolf Coal Co.'s map might have been inaccurate but said further investigation was needed. Rodney Brown, a spokesman for the U.S Mine Safety and Health Administration, said an investigation would take about a month.
The nine-man crew was performing a common technique called room-and-pillar mining: A machine called a continuous miner, a mechanized drumhead equipped with drill bits, digs parallel paths through the earth, each about 18 feet wide and as much as 3,000 yards deep. These "rooms" are separated by 50- to 100-foot wide pillars to support the roof of the mine. Cross-cuts between rooms are made every couple hundred yards.
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