Pennsylvania Bureau of Deep Mine Safety
Provide Mine safety inspections, Miner
certifications Safety Training and Mine Rescue services for miners
within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Locations
• Uniontown – Main Office/Bituminous Rescue Station
• Ebensburg – Bituminous Mine Rescue Station
• Tremont – Anthracite Mine Rescue Station
• Pottsville – Anthracite Main Office
Underground Mine Safety
• Bituminous Coal
• Anthracite Coal
• Industrial Minerals
Accidents in Mining
• All Mining in the U. S. 67 Miners died in 2002
• In Pennsylvania 3 Miners died mining coal in 2002
• In 2003 To this date in Pennsylvania. 0 miners have died
Pennsylvania Mining History
• Anthracite
• Bituminous
• Stone/Clay
How Mining Touches Our Lives
• Mineral Mining – Roads, concrete, decorative stones, soda ash, salt, sulfur
• Coal Mining – Electricity, steel, Home heat, nylon
• Mine Subsidence, Acid Mine Water
• Mine site Reclamation
Mining MethodsUnderground - Surface
• Underground Coal – Room and Pillar and Long wall
• Surface Coal – Remove the overburden, Extract coal by draglines, dozers, shovels, large haul trucks
Pennsylvania Mine Rescue
Quecreek Mine Rescue
July 2002
What Happened?
• Miners cut into an adjacent abandon coal mine.
• 60 Million gallons of water inundated their mine.
• 18 miners were working in the mine when the water rushed in.
• 9 miners made it to the surface• 9 other miners were trapped
By 9:45PM, Water Reported at this Location - 1 Left Miners Cannot get Out and Reportedly Travel Back to Section
The Rescue
• For 78 hours the trapped miners waited for rescuers to free them.
• Drillers drilled a 6 inch borehole in to the area that the miners were in 11 hours after they were trapped.
• The miners tapped on the drill steel to let the rescuers know they were alive.
• A 30 inch bore hole was started about 20 feet from the 6 inch hole to be used as an escape shaft.
Water must be pumped out
• Drill holes are drilled to place pumps into the mine to pump the water out.
• 30,000 gallons per min. was being pumped.
• When water started flowing out of the mine opening things looked bad.
• Many people all across the country responded with help.
The Rescue Bore Hole
• At 10:16 PM on Saturday evening the hole breaks through to the miners.
• All 9 are alive!• Escape capsule is lowered into
the mine. • One by one each miner is
brought to safety.
Thank You
John CoolLarry Stowinsky