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

Commonwealth Locations

• Uniontown – Main Office/Bituminous Rescue Station

• Ebensburg – Bituminous Mine Rescue Station

• Tremont – Anthracite Mine Rescue Station

• Pottsville – Anthracite Main Office

Underground Mine Safety

• Bituminous Coal

• Anthracite Coal

• Industrial Minerals

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

Pennsylvania Mining History

• Anthracite

• Bituminous

• Stone/Clay

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

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

Pennsylvania Mine Rescue

Quecreek Mine Rescue

July 2002

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

By 9:45PM, Water Reported at this Location - 1 Left Miners Cannot get Out and Reportedly Travel Back to Section

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.

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.

The Rescue Bore Hole

• At 10:16 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.

Thank You

John CoolLarry Stowinsky