Published in the December 2009 Coal USA Magazine

Shortly after the mine disasters of 2006 which brought changes in industry regulations, including the installation of refuge alternatives and training in their use at every mine, a group of researchers in the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research began a study of expert recommendations and the new federal laws.

By March 2009, a written response-focused module called Harry’s Hard Choices was released, with the aim of motivating workers to think about a real-life emergency scenario and what the best course of action would be.

In addition to a trainee problem booklet, which chronicles a fire incident that longwall foreman Harry Hamilton faces at his mine, an instructor manual contains talking points to help miners make the right decision and prepare themselves for the worst in the best of locations – a classroom.

Released shortly after was Guidelines for Instructional Materials on Refuge Chamber Setup, Use, and Maintenance, designed to provide chamber manufacturers, mine managers and safety trainers with suggestions on how to best train miners to set up, use, maintain and transport refuge chambers.

“This report also contains suggestions for items to include in a refuge chamber,” the group noted. “It is hoped that manufacturers will use the information in this report to create more comfortable and useful refuge chambers.”

Most recently, NIOSH released the Flash-based Refuge Chamber Expectations Training, including an instructor’s guide with lesson plans. Released in October 2009, the module focuses on the psychological and physiological aspects of being inside a refuge chamber, the sights and sounds that might be heard after an incident, and some of the physical responses one might encounter post-event, such as nausea or extreme perspiration.

The Flash training is 12 minutes long with additional time devoted to discussion. To help prepare miners for what to expect when using a refuge chamber, the training features animations, audio, video, pictures and interviews with miners who used a chamber in Canada.

The training also includes suggestions for reducing stress when in the refuge chamber.

Three more parts of the suite will be released in 2010, beginning with computer-based decision-making unit When do You Take Refuge?, designed to complement Harry’s Hard Choices, early next year.

Like the Choose Your Own Adventure books, the module sets up a self-directed underground emergency that presents new issues and questions as decisions are made by the user. The researchers noted that the program was still under development, but was a branching exercise, meaning that the story changes based on the user’s decisions; feedback is also given when a miner makes a poor decision.

Due sometime in the second quarter of next year is Best Practices for Operations Training, the fifth part of the research endeavor. The document will reference important factors for operations training and the nuts and bolts of teaching strategies, whether a training program is for a mine or chamber producer.

Finally, later in 2010, the industry will be introduced to How to Operate a Refuge Chamber: A Quick-Start Guide, which will show four basic steps for correctly entering and using an emergency shelter.

Much like the 3+3 donning procedure for self-contained self-rescuers that is now common practice at US mines for its ease of use, NIOSH is designing this process so it can be easily remembered and implemented. The four steps are deploy, purge, oxygen and scrubber, which can be tailored for each unit.

All of the components of the suite are stand-alone modules that can be used independently of one another. The researchers noted that all of the programs introduced to date had been well received by the industry.

Field tests have been completed on each of the released modules and are scheduled for the remaining three items; feedback from miners and manufacturers has so far been very positive. The training units encourage workers to talk, discuss and become less hesitant or nervous around refuge stations.

The entire NIOSH research team said all components of the educational suite had one significant theme – the proper way, times and situations to use a chamber. The suite emphasizes that escape attempts should always be made first and that miners should use the chamber only if escape routes cannot be located or are blocked.