Title: Results of in-mine research in support of the investigation of the Sago Mine explosion
Description: "The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training (WVOMHS&T) investigated the explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia, which occurred on January 2, 2006, and resulted in 12 fatalities. As part of the investigation, the agencies requested that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory evaluate the effects of explosions on specific mine ventilation seals and other structures and objects at its Lake Lynn Experimental Mine (LLEM). The results of the LLEM study would assist MSHA and WVOMHS&T in a more thorough understanding of the various questions that arose during their investigations of the explosion. Six large-scale explosion tests were conducted in the LLEM from April to October 2006. The protocols for these tests, and in particular the procedures for constructing various Omega block seals, were developed mainly by MSHA and WVOMHS&T. NIOSH developed the experimental procedures at the LLEM that would provide the required range of explosion pressures against the seals ... By comparing the results of known explosion loading pressures on the various ventilation structures and objects in the LLEM with their observations at the Sago Mine, MSHA and WVOMHS&T could better analyze the explosion pressures that may have occurred at the Sago Mine."--P. [1]-2.
Subjects: Coal mine accidents, Coal miners, Coal mines and mining, Safety measures, Evaluation, Mine safety, Mine explosions, Coal Mining
Places: West Virginia, United States