Three subcommittees have been formed following the 2006 Fight or Flight seminar in Emerald, which discussed key issues relating to the first five hours of an underground coal mine emergency response.
Queensland chief inspector of coal mines Brian Lyne said the subcommittees, made up of experienced industry representatives and other experts, were working towards outcomes which will improve emergency response plans in the future.
“We want it to be industry wide so that a contractor or any person working in one mine and moving to another mine goes through a system that has some consistency about it,” Lyne said.
“When people turn up to assist another mine during a real emergency event they will know what to expect and how to make a valued contribution.”
The first subcommittee is addressing the use of self-contained self-rescuers (SCSRs) and compressed air breathing apparatus in self escape and is being chaired by senior site executive David Stone from Xstrata Coal.
Chaired by industry safety and health representative Greg Dalliston from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the second working group is looking at the first five hours of an emergency response and assessing what equipment and training is required for people to be effective in providing an emergency response.
The emerging alternative to SCSRs, compressed air breathing apparatus (CABA) will be a focus for the group, as it gives miners the ability to stay and address an underground emergency as well as assist injured mine workers in contaminated atmospheres.
Lyne said since the Fight or Flight seminar in September, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of mines implementing CABA in their emergency response systems.
“In fact all the large players have adopted it, and only a very few mines have yet to make a formal commitment to do so,” he said.
CABA units give miners the ability to stay underground without the fear of running out of oxygen and also allow them to communicate with each other and by telephone to the surface.
The third subcommittee is being chaired by Simtars’ Martin Watkinson and is concentrating on research and development, in particular the development of a mines rescue/self-escape diesel vehicle.
The modified diesel vehicle has been developed during three years of research led by Simtars in conjunction with Queensland Mines Rescue and the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP).
“We are checking what has been done elsewhere in the world and identifying areas where there is a need for a research project to be carried out in Australia,” Watkinson told ILN.
“The aim is to get consistent standards across mine sites with this process being driven by mine site representatives.”
The committee is also developing another ACARP submission to develop a simulator for the use of SCSRs, which will allow people to experience similar conditions and breathing resistance as in an emergency situation.
Lyne said it was encouraging to note that most coal mining companies are already making voluntary changes to their safety systems as they become aware of new ideas and advances without the need for prescriptive regulations.
He said a number of coal mines are already adopting a modified version of a mine emergency system used by the police force, fire brigade and ambulance, called MEMS – Mine Emergency Management System.
“The benefit will be that when we bring in outside emergency services during a mine emergency, the system will be compatible to the way they operate, eliminating many areas of confusion,” Lyne said.
The first two subcommittees are expected to deliver their outcomes by year end, with the R&D group possibly taking longer.
“I believe that there will be changes and improved practices and a greater amount of consistency across our mines that will result in sustainable changes in our emergency response capability in all coal mines,” Lyne said.
