2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22A. Miners' Health, Safety and Training › Article 2. Underground Mines › §22A-2-62. Thermal Coal Dryers and Plants

Thermal coal dryer plants shall be hereafter constructed, maintained and operated in compliance with the following provisions:
(1) Good housekeeping shall be practiced in and around thermal dryer plants.
(2) Adequate firefighting facilities shall be provided on all floors.
(3) When welding and cutting operations are to be performed in a dryer structure, the area shall be wetted down thoroughly and adequate firefighting apparatus shall be readily available during the operation.
(4) Only qualified persons shall be permitted to operate dryers; however, this provision shall not prohibit qualified persons from training other persons to become qualified operators.
(5) Dryer control panels shall be provided with audible and visible alarm devices; such devices should be adjusted to function at somewhat less than maximum dryer temperature.
(6) A bypass or relief stack equipped with an automatically operated damper shall be provided for bypassing gases from the heating units to the outside atmosphere during emergency or normal shutdown operations.
(7) Thermal coal dryers hereafter installed shall not be enclosed except that roofs may be used. Whenever it is deemed necessary to enclose thermal dryers, such equipment shall be in a fireproof structure.
(8) Dryer installations and discharge stacks shall be protected with adequate explosion release vents that open to the outside atmosphere.
(9) Thermal coal dryers shall be located at a safe distance from tipples, cleaning plants, mine openings and surface buildings, such as oil storage areas, explosive magazines, and other buildings where coal dust, sparks and flames are likely to enter and become ignited or otherwise cause danger of fires.
(10) Dryers shall be equipped with quick-response heat control devices which, in the event of superelevated temperatures, will automatically divert the hot inlet gases into a bypass stack, thereby bypassing the drying chamber and at the same time stopping the fuel from being supplied to the air heater.
(11) All dryers, conveyors and other fine coal transporting machines shall be constructed as dust-tight as practicable. Where necessary, such equipment shall be provided with removable covers for inspection and cleaning and shall be provided with vent pipes to the outside atmosphere to permit the escape of distilled gases.
(12) Dryers shall be examined thoroughly after normal and emergency shutdown for fires and coal dust accumulations.
(13) Dryer controls, valves and mechanical equipment shall be frequently inspected, and no dryer shall be operated with defective mechanical equipment.
(14) The gauges of temperature control instruments shall be of the recording type.
(15) Operating rules suitable for the characteristics of each dryer system and the materials processed shall be developed and shall be available at the control panel.
(16) Electrical equipment, electrical wiring and lighting fixtures shall be of dust-tight construction.
(17) Adequate illumination shall be provided.
(18) Dryers shall not be operated beyond their rated evaporation capacity.
(19) Fluid bed dryers shall be provided with water sprays of sufficient capacity for use in event of fire.
(20) After shutdowns, thermal dryers shall be cleared of hot coals so as to minimize ignitions on succeeding startups.
(21) Thermal coal dryers previously installed in a tipple or cleaning plant shall be separated where practicable from other working areas by substantial partitions capable of providing greater resistance to explosion pressures than an exterior wall or walls.
(22) When it is necessary to use extension cables for emergency illumination, such lighting devices shall be dust-tight and adequately guarded. When it becomes necessary to perform work in dryer system bins or any other dusty areas, permissible cap lamps shall be used for illumination.