Back to The MINER Act of 2006 and Related NIOSH Activities

Overview

Approximately 700 underground coal mines and 240 underground metal/nonmetal and stone mines operate in the United States. They employ a total workforce of 40,000 coal miners and 14,000 metal/nonmetal/stone miners. Additionally, these mines employ about 4,700 underground contractors. A recent survey conducted by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) indicated that there are 236 state and company mine rescue teams in the United States (20 coal mine teams and 116 metal and nonmetal teams) with a total of 1,700 rescue team members.

In cooperation with state mining agencies and mining companies, mine rescue teams have evaluated a variety of rescue technologies during realistic training exercises at NIOSH's Lake Lynn Laboratory. Technologies that have been evaluated with more than 50 different rescue teams include a lighted team linkline, lifeline pulleys, various communication systems for team/fresh air base communication, thermal imaging cameras, retractable stretchers, high-intensity LED lights, chemical light sticks, and handheld lasers. Some of these technologies, such as lifeline pulleys and chemical light sticks, have already been adopted by many of the rescue teams. Further work is planned to make the lighting technologies and lasers intrinsically safe for use in mine rescue applications. Efforts are also continuing to find a licensee for the NIOSH patent on the lighted rescue linkline.

NIOSH Projects and Activities

• Mine Rescue and Response

References