One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research

Bureau research on methane drainage in the 1970s and early 1980s helped lead the widespread
use of this technology today. This technology has helped make mine gas explosions relatively
rare, and the methane drained from the mines has been a welcome addition to U.S. natural gas
supplies.
The Bureau also developed the direct method test to measure the gas content of coal samples.
This method allows mining companies to determine the gassiness of their coal reserves during
exploratory drilling—a direct aid to ventilation system and methane drainage planning before
mine development begins. The portable modified direct method apparatus developed by the
Bureau won an R&D 100 award in 1997.
In 1972, an underground mine fire at the Sunshine Mine in Kellogg, ID, resulted in the deaths of
91 miners. This disaster was one of the factors that led to the passage of the 1977 Mine Act. It
also led to an immediate expansion in Bureau research on prevention and control of underground
mine fires. The Bureau began new research on test procedures for the evaluation of fire
resistance of materials used underground, fire detection instrumentation, computer models to
predict the spread of fires and toxic gases, and techniques for sealing and extinguishing
underground fires.
In addition, the Bureau did research on the flammability of mine ventilation tubing that helped
lead to the adoption of a new federal standard test procedure. A new laboratory scale test
procedure was also developed to test the fire resistance of conveyor belt materials. The Bureaudeveloped
mine fire simulation computer program, MFIRE, was used to model the spread of
mine fires. This software is used to predict the spread of combustion products through
underground mine passages. It provides great value in the design of fire detection systems and
for mine escape and firefighting strategies.
Finally, Bureau research in the 1970s and 1980s helped to develop a self-contained self-rescuer
(SCSR), allowing miners to escape from underground mines when the mine atmosphere
contained toxic gases or insufficient oxygen. Previously, miners wore filter self-rescuers that
only protected against low levels of carbon monoxide, but not against other toxic gases or
oxygen deficiency. Combined Bureau and the private sector research also led to the
development of several SCSRs that could provide a sixty-minute supply of oxygen to help
miners escape in an emergency. Federal regulations required that SCSRs be available in the face
area of underground coal mines, and they began to be deployed in mines in October 1982.
5.6.4 Illumination
Before the 1969 Coal Act, the only illumination in underground coal mines was often the cap
lamp worn by the miners. The electric cap lamp was a great safety improvement over the open
flame lamps used early in the century; however, it provided only a spot of light directly in front
of the miner, and was little help for peripheral vision. The 1969 Act specifically called for
improvements in the illumination of underground coal mines. Bureau research determined that
0.06 footlamberts was the minimum light level needed for a safe workplace. The Bureau also
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