Wyoming Administrative Code › Agency 053 - Workforce Services, Department of › Sub-Agency 0004 - Mining Inspector › Chapter 4 - UNDERGROUND COAL MINES › Subpart D - Ventilation › Section 75.383 - Escapeway maps and drills

Current through July 13, 2024
(a) A map shall be
				  posted or readily accessible to all miners in each working section, and in each
				  area where mechanized mining equipment is being installed or removed. The map
				  shall show the designated escapeways from the working section to the location
				  where miners must travel to satisfy the escapeway drill specified in paragraph
				  (b)(1) of this section. A map showing the main escapeways shall be posted at a
				  surface location of the mine where miners congregate, such as at the mine
				  bulletin board, bathhouse, or waiting room. All maps shall be kept up to date,
				  and any changes in route of travel, locations of doors, or directions of
				  airflow shall be shown on the maps by the end of the shift on which the changes
				  are made, and affected miners shall be informed of the changes before entering
				  the underground areas of the mine. Miners underground on a shift when any such
				  change is made shall be immediately notified of the change.
(b)
(1) At
				  least once every 90 days, each miner, including miners with working stations
				  located between working sections and main escapeways, shall participate in a
				  practice escapeway drill. During this drill, each miner shall travel the
				  primary or alternate escapeway from the miner's working section or area where
				  mechanized mining equipment is being installed or removed, to the area where
				  the split of air ventilating the working section intersects a main air course,
				  or 2,000 feet outby the section loading point, whichever distance is greater.
				  Other miners shall participate in the escapeway drill by traveling in the
				  primary or alternate escapeway for a distance of 2,000 feet from their working
				  station toward the nearest escape facility or drift opening. An escapeway drill
				  shall not be conducted in the same escapeway as the immediately preceding
				  drill.
(2) At least once every 6
				  weeks and for each shift, at least two miners on each coal producing working
				  section who work on that section, accompanied by the section supervisor, shall
				  participate in a practice escape drill and shall travel the primary or
				  alternate escapeway from the location specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this
				  section, to the surface, to mechanical escape facilities, or to an underground
				  entrance to a shaft or slope to the surface. Systematic rotation of section
				  personnel shall be used so that all miners participate in this drill. An
				  escapeway drill shall not be conducted in the same escapeway as the immediately
				  preceding drill.
(3) At least once
				  every 6 weeks, at least two miners on each maintenance shift and a supervisor,
				  shall participate in a practice escape drill and shall travel the primary or
				  alternate escapeway from the location specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this
				  section, to the surface, to mechanical escape facilities, or to an underground
				  entrance to a shaft or slope to the surface. Systematic rotation of maintenance
				  personnel and working sections shall be used so that all miners participate in
				  this drill and the escapeways from all sections are traveled. An escapeway
				  drill shall not be conducted in the same escapeway as the immediately preceding
				  drill.
(4) Before or during
				  practice escapeway drills, miners shall be informed of the locations of fire
				  doors, check curtains, changes in the routes of travel, and plans for diverting
				  smoke from escapeways.