Pennsylvania Bureau of Deep Mine Safety

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Pennsylvania Bureau of Deep Mine Safety

• Provide Mine safety inspections,
  Miner certifications
  Safety Training and Mine Rescue services for
  miners within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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Commonwealth Locations

• Uniontown Main Office/Bituminous Rescue Station
  
• Ebensburg Bituminous Mine Rescue Station
• Tremont Anthracite Mine Rescue Station
• Pottsville Anthracite Main Office

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Underground Mine Safety

• Bituminous Coal
• Anthracite Coal
• Industrial Minerals

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Accidents in Mining

• All Mining in the U. S. 67 Miners died in 2002
• In Pennsylvania 3 Miners died mining coal in 2002
• In 2003 To this date in Pennsylvania. 0 miners
  have died

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Pennsylvania Mining History

• Anthracite
• Bituminous
• Stone/Clay

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How Mining Touches Our Lives

• Mineral Mining Roads, concrete, decorative
  stones, soda ash, salt, sulfur
• Coal Mining Electricity, steel, Home heat,
  nylon
• Mine Subsidence, Acid Mine Water
• Mine site Reclamation

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Mining MethodsUnderground - Surface

• Underground Coal Room and Pillar and Long wall
• Surface Coal Remove the overburden, Extract
  coal by draglines, dozers, shovels, large haul
  trucks

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Pennsylvania Mine Rescue

• Quecreek Mine Rescue
• July 2002

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What Happened?

• Miners cut into an adjacent abandon coal mine.
• 60 Million gallons of water inundated their mine.
• 18 miners were working in the mine when the water
  rushed in.
• 9 miners made it to the surface
• 9 other miners were trapped

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By 945PM, Water Reported at this Location - 1
Left Miners Cannot get Out and Reportedly Travel
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The Rescue

• For 78 hours the trapped miners waited for
  rescuers to free them.
• Drillers drilled a 6 inch borehole in to the area
  that the miners were in 11 hours after they were
  trapped.
• The miners tapped on the drill steel to let the
  rescuers know they were alive.
• A 30 inch bore hole was started about 20 feet
  from the 6 inch hole to be used as an escape
  shaft.

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Water must be pumped out

• Drill holes are drilled to place pumps into the
  mine to pump the water out.
• 30,000 gallons per min. was being pumped.
• When water started flowing out of the mine
  opening things looked bad.
• Many people all across the country responded with
  help.

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The Rescue Bore Hole

• At 1016 PM on Saturday evening the hole breaks
  through to the miners.
• All 9 are alive!
• Escape capsule is lowered into the mine.
• One by one each miner is brought to safety.

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Thank You
John Cool Larry Stowinsky