Annual Report,2009 - Directorate General of Mines Safety

DGMS Annual Report,2009
Not cleaning the old galleries and return airways off fallen coal and not treating
thoroughly with stone dust.
Sluggish ventilation in old workings and depillaring areas.
Working the depillaring panel beyond the incubation period.
Not filling up the surface cracks formed due to subsidence and causing leakage of air
into the sealed off areas and old workings.
Not making and maintaining the isolation stoppings as prescribed.
Non provision of latest carbon monoxide gas detecting devices.
Corrective measures:
Rate of extraction has to be made faster by deploying well maintained loading
machines and loss of coal in the goaf has to be minimized.
Isolation and sectionlization stoppings have to be regularly inspected as per statute to
detect early stage of spontaneous heating.
Strengthening of old stoppings.
Fallen loose coal has to be cleaned off regularly.
Surface area above the goved out panels shall be filled up to avoid breathing of air.
All the galleries exposed on the side of entries to the belowground workings in the
seam shall be covered effectively to avoid breathing of air through those galleries.
Rib of coal left as barrier between opencast working and belowground working need
to be covered to prevent formation of return circuit through the cracks/fissures
developed at the surface.
B. Other Fires
There was a case of fire in dry vegetation extended upto the old tyre stock yard of the
excavation workshop. There was a case of fire in shale debris as carbonaceous material
dumped in haul road caught fire due to fire in dry vegetation. There was a case of fire in
conveyor belt of rapid loading system. There was a case of fire in drill m/c during the break
down maintenance in an open cast mine. There was a case of fire in 550v cable due to three
phase short circuiting at the cable joint box.
Corrective measures:
Timely action has to be initiated if active fire is known be existed behind the stoppings.
Reinforcement of stoppings and cleaning of return airway to prevent choking shall be
done.
Adequate precautions shall be taken as per statute while using flame or electric
welding or repairing apparatus belowground as well as in opencast workings.
Proper code of practice for prevention of fires in HEMM should be framed and
implemented.
A-36