Armchair OSH apologists in the media and in Sci-blogs have been trying to justify the lack of a rescue in Greymouth because of the dangers from gases.
I'm no mining engineer, so I stand to be corrected, but like many others I am increasingly cynical about NZ's ability to handle a disaster.
This obsession with safety (Supt Gary Knowles told reporters today he wouldn't let rescuers into the mine unless it was "100% safe" - a higher safety threshhold than crossing the road) appears to be crippling our response to emergencies. Thank God no one was killed in the Chch quake because chances are police would have been too scared to send in rescuers.
As a police reporter I witnessed similar stupidity at Aramoana, where police were initially too scared to send heavily armed units and an army vehicle in, and the one cop who had a clear shot at the offender opted to caution the murderer first resulting in more loss of life.
However, in light of claims by those who say hang back at all costs, I looked at how the US responds to coal mine explosions:
The Sago Mine disaster, rescuers entered much faster than in Greymouth, despite similar risks:
It was reported that the early hours after the blast were chaotic and mining company did not call a specialized mine rescue crew until 8:04 a.m. — more than 90 minutes after the blast. The company notified the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) at 8:30. The company said it started its calls at 7:40. MSHA records two calls at 8:10 to personnel who were out of town due to the holiday. MSHA arrived on site at approximately 10:30 am. The first rescue crew arrived ten minutes later.[16]
High levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and methane gas in the mine atmosphere made it necessary for rescuers to wait 12 hours after the explosion to begin to reach the miners. Tests taken through holes drilled from the surface showed that the air near where the miners were last known to be stationed contained 1,300 parts per million of CO. More than 200 parts per million is considered unsafe.[17] However, each miner had a self-contained self-rescue device that provided one hour of breathable air. Emergency supplies were stored in 55-gallon drums (205 L drums) within the mine.
Even after the gases abated, rescue teams had to proceed with caution, continually testing for hazards such as water seeps, explosive gas concentrations, and unsafe roof conditions. This limited their rate of progress to 1,000 feet (300 m) an hour. They checked in every 500 feet (150 m), and then disconnected their telephones until the next checkpoint in order to avoid the possibility of a spark creating another explosion. MSHA had deployed a 1,300-lb. (520 kg) robot into the mine as well, but pulled it out after it became mired 2,600 feet (790 m) from the mine entrance.
The 13 trapped miners were about 2 miles (3.2 km) inside the mine at approximately 280 feet (85 m) below ground. Five four-man teams tried to make their way through the entries, which were 5.5 feet (170 cm) high. By 12:40 p.m. on January 3, they had reached 10,200 feet (3,100 m) into the mine. It was believed that the trapped miners were somewhere between 11,000 to 13,000 feet (3,400 to 4,000 m) from the entrance.
Two 6.25-inch (15.9 cm) holes were drilled from the surface into areas where the miners were believed to be; microphones and video cameras lowered into them for ten-minute periods did not find any signs of life. Air quality tests performed through the first hole on the morning of January 3 indicated that carbon monoxide (CO) levels in that part of the mine were at 1,300 parts per million. Officials called this "very discouraging." A third hole encountered groundwater and could not be drilled all the way down. However, the miners were trained to find a safe part of the mine and barricade themselves into it in the event of an explosion or collapse. Experts expected that a third hole, if successful, could expand the opening and provide a better way of rescuing the miners than proceeding into the mine. Miners are required to carry a Self-Contained Self-Rescuer (SCSR) that provides a one-hour supply of oxygen for evacuation. The first hint of the miners' status came around 5:00 p.m. on January 3 when it was reported that a body had been found. Because of the location of the body, those familiar with the miners and their jobs believed it was the fire boss, Terry Helms. Hours later, just before midnight, rumours spread quickly that 12 of the 13 miners had been found alive.[19] Thirty minutes later, the rescue team told company officials that the original report was incorrect.
In the early morning of January 4, 41 hours after the incident began, 12 of the miners were found dead. Randal L. McCloy, Jr. was found alive, but in critical condition. The remaining miners were found at the working face of the second left portion of the mine, some 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from the mine entrance, behind a "rough barricade structure", as described by Hatfield.[20] This is the same area where drillings indicated high carbon monoxide levels.
About three hours after the reports, company CEO Ben Hatfield confirmed that McCloy was the only survivor. This was the first official report from the company since the victims were found.[21] Soon after the first reports of survivors, ambulances and the hospital emergency room were on standby. Hatfield said that carbon monoxide levels in the area where the miners were found was in the range of 300–400 ppm when the rescue team arrived. This is near the safe threshold level to support life for 15 minutes. He said that carbon monoxide poisoning was the likely cause of death.
In the West Virginian mine disaster in April this year, it seems to have been an almost exact circumstantial match to the NZ case. 29 men died, two escaped, and rescuers had to battle methane and CO problems. Nonetheless, they went in from day one:
Emergency crews initially gathered at the one of the portals for the Upper Big Branch Mine in Birchton, West Virginia, about 2 miles north of Montcoal and 3 miles south of Whitesville on Route 3 (on the west side of the road).[10] Kevin Stricklin, an administrator with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), stated 25 were reported dead and 4 unaccounted for. There are four boreholes to the mine; rescuers said they must drill 1,200 feet (370 m) through one of them to reach the affected area where survivors were located. Officials stated that there are two rescue chambers – ventilated rooms with basic supplies for survival – in the mine. On April 6, 2010, at 2:00 a.m., high levels of methane and carbon monoxide were detected forcing the team of rescuers to higher ground, further delaying the search. [11]
By Wednesday April 7, 11 bodies had been recovered while 14 still had not.[11] Although there were no indications that the four missing miners were still alive, the operations continued in rescue mode, rather than moving to recovery. Governor Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said, "Everyone is holding on to the hope that is their father, their son."[12] On the morning of April 8, 2010 the rescue efforts were suspended due to dangerous levels of methane in the mine.[13] Smoke in the mine, still present on April 9, indicated that there was an active fire in the mine making conditions hazardous for rescuers. Rescue attempts were set to resume later that day.[14]
According to an Associated Press story[15] the two safety chambers in the mine are inflatable units made by Strata Safety Products with air, water, sanitary facilities, and food sufficient to support more than a dozen miners for about four days; they could possibly support four miners for longer than 96 hours, though only if any miners managed to reach a chamber after the blast. [16].
Late on April 9, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin announced that the bodies of the 4 miners had been found, bringing the death toll to 29. The miners had not made it to either of the safety chambers. Conditions were so bad in the mine that rescuers who were in the mine on the first day of rescue unknowingly walked past the bodies of the four miners.[
It may be that the miners in NZ have suffered an unspeakable fate already, in which case a hasty rescue, objectively, is unwarranted. But that's not what authorities are saying publicly, and if Knowles is waiting for a day with no risk at all to anyone then he'll be waiting till Kingdom come, and we may as well just seal up the Pike River mine today and call it a national tomb.
Like I said on Saturday, all we need is one volunteer, in non-combustion clothing and footwear, with sufficient re-breathing cannisters, to make his way into the mine and see what he finds. Yes, there's a risk, but it's not unreasonable. If there is already a fire burning deep in the mine then I can't see how combustible gas would be building up - open flames would consume them in the same way a barbecue burner makes LPG controllable.
One might also ask why NZ has not asked the US for one of these mine robots on Day 1?
If I'm wrong, convince me, but it will need to be a darn sight better argument than anyone has mustered to date.
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