After four mining accidents in January and early February killed 16
people in West Virginia, industry experts are studying whether
information technology can help to prevent future fatalities. But
there's little agreement about which technologies can do the most
good.
Investment in mine safety technology has lagged for years, partly
because the government hasn't pushed for improvements. Mining
regulations instead are focused on training and accident
prevention, says Keith Pauley, CEO of the nonprofit Mid-Atlantic
Technology, Research & Innovation Center (Matric). "The
legislators think that if they prevent an accident, it's better
than reacting afterward," he says.
Meanwhile, the mining industry has been "lulled to sleep" by
decreasing accident rates, says R. Larry Grayson, a professor of
mining engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla. Since 1990,
U.S. mine injuries have declined by 51 percent and fatalities by
almost 67 percent, according to the National Mining Association.
"This year, all of a sudden, has turned that all around," Grayson
says.
The mining association has asked Grayson, a former coal mine
manager, to head an independent commission on mine safety. Part of
the commission's work will be to examine which technologies could
help. Meanwhile, the West Virginia legislature passed a bill
requiring wireless communications inside mines. In the Sago mine
explosion in Tallmansville, West Virginia, where 12 miners died,
fire damaged a wireline communications system, leaving the miners
without a way to talk to the surface. Most U.S. mines use some type
of wireline system, experts say.
Other technologies have potential to improve mine safety by
enabling miners to communicate more reliably with rescuers. But
even the best options are far from perfect, says Matt Ward,
managing director of Varis Mine Technology. Varis makes
communications products such as "leaky feeder" cables, which
transmit wireless voice, video and data through a cable that can be
strung throughout a mine. The cable "leaks" radio signals, acting
much like a surface antenna. But, like telephone wires, the cables
can be severed in a mine collapse or damaged by fire.
Another technology, ultra-low frequency text-messaging, would
enable communication from outside mines without cables or wires.
But it works only one way. Anyone on the surface could transmit
messages underground, but workers inside the mines could not send
messages in return.
Matric has also proposed that mines use a combination of
technologies, including sensors to monitor miners' vital signs and
radio frequency identification systems to track vehicles inside
mines. Other mining experts suggest using robots to scout out
trapped miners, an idea that hasn't caught on partially because of
the high cost.
Grayson says the best solution is a mix of overlapping
technologies, but deploying several different communications
networks can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per mine.
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