EXPLOSIONSINMINES–SYSTEMATICFAILURE*D.R.ChalmersUniversityofNewsouthWalesSchoolofMiningEngineeringSydney,NSW,Australia2052(*Correspondingauthor:d.chalmers@unsw.edu.au)EXPLOSIONSINMINES–SYSTEMATICFAILUREABSTRACTInsomepartsoftheworldexplosionsinminesaremorecommonplaceevents.Eveninthemoredevelopednationsexplosionshaveoccurredinrecenttimes.Insomecasesthesemineshavesignificantlyloweredtheirlosttimeinjuryfrequencyratesandassuchconsideredthemselvestobe“safe”operations.Theconsequenceoftheseexplosionshasbeendevastating.Itisnotjustthelossofthoseunderground,butalsotothefamiliesthathavelostpeopleinthemandthebroadercommunitythathaslostfriends,income,businessopportunities,andinmanycasessupportandsponsorships.Itbegssomanyquestions,“Whatwentwrong?”;“Whywerethecircumstancesnotforeseen?”;“Whatcouldhavebeendonetopreventit?”;“Howisitthatnoonestoppedit,reportedit,fixeditetc.?”.Beingheldaccountablefornegligence,shouldnotbeoverlooked,howeverthismaynotaidtheprocessesrequiredtofindalltheanswers.Ifthenatureofexplosionsisunderstood,thecircumstancesandtoolstopreventthemarereadilyavailablethentheoccurrenceandreoccurrenceareduetoweaknessesorinadequaciesofthesystemsofworkorintheimplementationofthem.Thispaperrestatesthefundamentalsofgasexplosions,examinestheoptionstocontroltheundergroundenvironmentthroughventilation,gasmanagementandmonitoring,educationandtraining.Casestudieshavebeenusedtoexaminesystematicfailuresinventilationmanagement.Insomeofthesecasesitisnotsomuch,thesystemthathadbeendeveloped,buttheinterpretationandimplementationofthesystemthatresultedinthefailureandsubsequentloss.KEYWORDSExplosions,systemsfailure,methane,lossprevention.INTRODUCTIONThepurposeofanymineistomakemoney.Incoalminestherearehazardsthatareinherenttothecoalseamandthosethatareintroducedbytheminingmethod.Controllingthesehazardsisnotwithoutexpenseandthusitisinevitablethatthesecontrolsaffectthebottomline.Tobeabletooperatetheminesafely,sufficientexpenditureisrequired.Manyminesareconductingriskassessmentstoidentifytherisksandthenlowertherisksfromthesehazardstoaslowasreasonablyacceptable(ALARA).Oneofthemostdevastatingeventsthatcanoccurinamineisanexplosion.Havinganexplosionundergroundcanresultinthelossofpersonnelandthelossofthemineitselforasignificantportionofit.Ithaswiderimplicationstothecommunitywherethelovedonesarelost,servicesnolongerrequired,higherburdenonunemploymentandlessexpenditureonlocalbusinesses.Thepotentialforlossoflifealoneshouldbesignificantincentivetoensurethattheseeventsdonottakeplace.Inmanycountries,explosionsinmineshaveoccurredinrecenttimes.Thesehaveresultedinlossoflife,devastatedcommunitiesandinsomecasesresultintheclosureofthemineandlossofincomeandemploymentforthesurvivors.Themechanismsthatcauseexplosionsarewell-knownandhavebeeninvestigatedbyminingwardens,regulators,inspectors,RoyalCommissions,coronialinquestsandcourtsoflaw.Explosionpreventionistaughtatmanyuniversities,collegesandtraininginstitutionsinprogramsrelatedtomining.Withallofthisunderstanding,educatedpeople,competentpeopleandminingsystemsinplacethereisstillopportunityfortheseeventstobecreated.Eitherthereisalackofunderstandingortherearedeficienciesinthewayinwhichthesystemsofworkarebeingdesigned,implementedorcontrolled.Byexploringthesemechanismsandevaluatingcasestudies,anexaminationofsystemfailuresmayhighlightanapproachthatwilleliminatetheseev...
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