30 CFR § 75.333
Ventilation controls.
(a) For purposes of this section, "doors" include any door frames.
(b) Permanent stoppings or other permanent ventilation control devices
constructed after November 15, 1992, shall be built and maintained--
(1) Between intake and return air courses, except temporary controls
may be used in rooms that are 600 feet or less from the centerline of the
entry from which the room was developed including where continuous face
haulage systems are used in such rooms. Unless otherwise approved in the
ventilation plan, these stoppings or controls shall be maintained to and
including the third connecting crosscut outby the working face;
(2) To separate belt conveyor haulageways from return air courses,
except where belt entries in areas of mines developed before March 30, 1970,
are used as return air courses;
(3) To separate belt conveyor haulageways from intake air courses when
the air in the intake air courses is used to provide air to active working
places. Temporary ventilation controls may be used in rooms that are 600 feet
or less from the centerline of the entry from which the rooms were developed
including where continuous face haulage systems are used in such rooms. When
continuous face haulage systems are used, permanent stoppings or other
permanent ventilation control devices shall be built and maintained to the
outby most point of travel of the dolly or 600 feet from the point of
deepest penetration in the conveyor belt entry, whichever distance is closer
to the point of deepest penetration, to separate the continuous haulage
entry from the intake entries;
(4) To separate the primary escapeway from belt and trolley haulage
entries, as required by §75.380(g). For the
purposes of §75.380(g), the loading point for
a continuous haulage system shall be the outby most point of travel of the
dolly or 600 feet from the point of deepest penetration, whichever distance
is less; and
(5) In return air courses to direct air into adjacent worked-out
areas.
(c) Personnel doors shall be constructed of noncombustible material and
shall be of sufficient strength to serve their intended purpose of
maintaining separation and permitting travel between air courses, and shall
be installed as follows in permanent stoppings constructed after November 15,
1992:
(1) The distance between personnel doors shall be no more than 300
feet in seam heights below 48 inches and 600 feet in seam heights 48 inches
or higher.
(2) The location of all personnel doors in stoppings along escapeways
shall be clearly marked so that the doors may be easily identified by anyone
traveling in the escapeway and in the entries on either side of the
doors.
(3) When not in use, personnel doors shall be closed.
(d) Doors, other than personnel doors, constructed after November 15,
1992, that are used in lieu of permanent stoppings or to control ventilation
within an air course shall be:
(1) Made of noncombustible material or coated on all accessible
surfaces with flame-retardant materials having a flame-spread index of 25 or
less, as tested under ASTM E162-87, "Standard Test Method for Surface
Flammability of Materials Using A Radiant Heat Energy Source." This
publication is incorporated by reference and may be inspected at any MSHA Coal Mine Safety and Health district office, or at MSHA's Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances
, 1100 Wilson Boulevard Room 2352, Arlington, Virginia 22209-3939, and at the Office of the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC.
In addition, copies of the document can be purchased from the American
Society for Testing (ASTM), 100 Barr Harbor Drive,
PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; http://www.astm.org
. This incorporation by reference was approved by the Director of the
Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
(2) Of sufficient strength to serve their intended purpose of
maintaining separation and permitting travel between or within air courses
or entries.
(3) Installed in pairs to form an airlock. When an airlock is used,
one side of the airlock shall remain closed. When not in use, both sides
shall be closed.
(e)(1)(i) Except as provided in paragraphs (e)(2), (e)(3) and (e)(4) of
this section all overcasts, undercasts, shaft partitions, permanent
stoppings, and regulators, installed after June 10, 1996, shall be
constructed in a traditionally accepted method and of materials that have
been demonstrated to perform adequately or in a method and of materials that
have been tested and shown to have a minimum strength equal to or greater
than the traditionally accepted in-mine controls. Tests may be performed
under ASTM E72-80, "Standard Methods of Conducting Strength Tests of Panels
for Building Construction" (Section 12--Transverse Load-Specimen Vertical,
load, only), or the operator may conduct comparative in-mine tests. In-mine
tests shall be designed to demonstrate the comparative strength of the
proposed construction and a traditionally accepted in-mine control. The
publication ASTM E72-80, "Standard Methods of Conducting Strength Tests of
Panels for Building Construction" is incorporated by reference and may be
inspected at any MSHA Coal Mine Safety and Health district office, or at MSHA's Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances
, 1100 Wilson Boulevard , Arlington,
VA, and at the Office of the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol Street,
NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC. In addition, copies of the document can be
purchased from the American Society for Testing (ASTM), 100 Barr Harbor Drive,
PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; http://www.astm.org. This incorporation by reference was
approved by the Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C.
552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
(ii) All overcasts, undercasts, shaft partitions, permanent
stoppings, and regulators, installed after November 15, 1992, shall be
constructed of noncombustible material. Materials that are suitable for the
construction of overcasts, undercasts, shaft partitions, permanent stoppings,
and regulators include concrete, concrete block, brick, cinder block, tile,
or steel. No ventilation controls installed after November 15, 1992, shall be
constructed of aluminum.
(2) In anthracite mines, permanent stoppings may be constructed of
overlapping layers of hardwood mine boards, if the stoppings are a minimum 2
inches thick.
(3) When timbers are used to create permanent stoppings in heaving or
caving areas, the stoppings shall be coated on all accessible surfaces with a
flame-retardant material having a flame-spread index of 25 or less, as tested
under ASTM E162-87, "Standard Test Method for Surface Flammability of
Materials Using A Radiant Heat Energy Source." This publication is
incorporated by reference and may be inspected at any MSHA Coal Mine Safety and Health district office, or at MSHA's Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances
,
1100 Wilson Boulevard , Arlington, VA, and at the Office of the Federal
Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC. In
addition, copies of the document can be purchased from the American Society
for Testing (ASTM), 100 Barr Harbor Drive,
PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; http://www.astm.org. This
incorporation by reference was approved by the Director of the Federal
Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
(4) In anthracite mines, doors and regulators may be constructed of
overlapping layers of hardwood boards, if the doors, door frames, and
regulators are a minimum 2 inches thick.
(f) When sealants are applied to ventilation controls, the sealant shall
have a flame-spread index of 25 or less under ASTM E162-87, "Standard Test
Method for Surface Flammability of Materials Using A Radiant Heat Energy
Source." This publication is incorporated by reference and may be inspected
at any MSHA Coal Mine Safety and Health district office, or at
MSHA's Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances
, 1100 Wilson Boulevard , Arlington, VA, and at the
Office of the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 700,
Washington, DC. In addition, copies of the document can be purchased from
the American Society for Testing (ASTM), 100 Barr Harbor Drive,
PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; http://www.astm.org
. This incorporation by reference was approved by the
Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1
CFR part 51.
(g) Before mining is discontinued in an entry or room that is advanced
more than 20 feet from the inby rib, a crosscut shall be made or line
brattice shall be installed and maintained to provide adequate ventilation.
When conditions such as methane liberation warrant a distance less than 20
feet, the approved ventilation plan shall specify the location of such rooms
or entries and the maximum distance they will be developed before a crosscut
is made or line brattice is installed.
(h) All ventilation controls, including seals, shall be maintained to serve
the purpose for which they were built.
[61 FR 9829, Mar. 11, 1996; 61 FR 20877, May 8, 1996; 61 FR 26442, May 28, 1996; 61 FR 29288, June
10, 1996]