The Sun. [volume] (Price, Utah) 1915-1932, 1920-12-17
By GEORGE s. RICE
Chief Mining Engineer Of the Bureau
Of Mines.

Of Mines.
The successful use of the gas mask
BY the American army in Tunce in
combating the poisonous gases of
German shells caused many army men
10 feel that the gas masks were proof
against any kind Of gas which might
be encountered. The result has been
that from time 10 time there have
been reported IN the press, deaths Of
former army men through using their
masks 10 enter various kinds of gases
such rs Illuminating gas, gasoline
vapor and the gaseous atmosphercs
produced by mine fire. Such case
has Just been reported from n mine
out in Copporupors, Gala, where a
former army man lost his life in
descending a mine shaft filled with
the fumes of mine fire. Another
man who. In attempting 10 rescue him,
merely used dust rcspirator, lost his
life also. While the American type
Of the army gas mask was developed
hy The bureau III mine for the depart
mcnt. and since Che war a section Of
the bureaus iuvcsligntivo force has
been developing industrial gas masks
certain specific gases. the bureau has
repeatedly called to che attention of
the public the fact that such masks
have serious limtut unB and in mol
case should n gas mask hp used In
underground workings Tor the reason
that there may be- nm insufficient
amount of oxygen To- breathe and the
gas mask does not supply oxygen or
there may be- present carbon monoXidc,
which the army mask will not remove,
and there always Is some carbon MON
oxide produced by q mine fire or I ! O.
coal mine explosion or by q blast of
dynamite or other explosive.
10 Is true that the bureau has been
developing n mask which may take
care of u small percentage of carbon
monoXidc, that h, per cent and un-
der, but In mine fires and after ox-
ploaionH, there may be, and frequently
h, much larger percentage of ear
bon monOxide In the mine atmosphere,
Masks such ns these, for small per-
ccningcs of carbon monoxide and as
ISOLATED gnses are for use Ia counec-
ton with industrial surface plants, aa
for example, on the top of blast
furnace or around gas producers In
the open air Even when a test has
shown only a small amount of carbon
monoXide present in n mine, one can
not tell, ON account of the rapidly
changing conditions caused by the
fire, whether within n short distance
there may not be high concentrations
fatal a. life. Finally, 10 cannot be
stated too positively that mask h
not the slightest help when there Is d
deficiency of oxygen, and this defici-
ency b. always present Ia the immedl-
ate vicinity of a mine fire, usually nc
compnnied by the presence of both
carbon doNide aud carbon monoxide.
In many places in m mes the presence
of carbon monoXide rs frequently un-
accompanied by amy warning and IL
a man enters place in q mine which
contains less than s or no per cent oi
oxygen be- is likely 90 drop in his
tracks without receiving the slightest
premoniiiun of his collapse.
Numerous instances have occurred
where gas, such as FIRE damp meth
ane) has been gathered in a pocket
in the roof and men entering the place
have Immediately lost consciousness,
Where they have been dragged out
Immediately aud revived, the impress
son of the victims has been that they
have been knocked down. In the ease
of the Copperpolis mine, il is reported
that miner undertook 10 go down
the shaft of a mine in which there was
a fire, using the army mask which he
had used overseas, II later proved
that he was overcome and fell off the
ladder into the sump. As he did mol
return two rescurers attempted 10 %
down, wearing ordinary dust respira
tors which, of course, are yalueles'
against gases. One of these men fel
off the ladder into the stump. The
other managed 10 get back into 1
skip and signal TO hoist, but when he
reached the surface he was uneOnsei
Gus and had 10 be revived by artificial
respiration. The two bodies were late
recovered from the stump by rescue
crews, wearing the bureau of mine
breathing apparatus under the super
vision Of bureau of mines engineers.
This striking ease presents an illus
tration of the absolute failure of thl
army gas mask and the success Of tn,
self-contained oxygen breathing APP
poratus in an irrespirable mina at
mosphere.