Underground Mine Disaster Survival and Rescue An Evaluation of Research Accomplishments and Needs (1981) / Chapter Skim
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CONTINGENCY PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
CONTINGENCY PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
Pages 73-84
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From page 73... ...
4.1 DISASTER PLANS As long as hazard sources such as methane, coal dust, water pools, electrical equipment, etc., exist in mines, there is always a possibility that accidents will occur. Good mine planning and operating practices, greater choice in equipment, increasing mandatory and advisory regulatory standards, and vigilance by management and labor have greatly reduced, but not eliminated, the likelihood of hazards and of loss of control during an accident.
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From page 74... ...
This happens most frequently when the disaster occurs at odd hours, on weekends, or over holidays when the usual or more experienced management personnel are not available. Such instances may result in an assistant delaying evacuation of the mine in order to "see for himself" or to personally attempt to "fight the fire" or "save the lives." When the hazard is not immediately brought under control, the delay in evacuation or other appropriate action may result in loss of life, lengthy rescue efforts, and loss of mine operation for a prolonged period because of disaster damage.
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From page 75... ...
Disaster plans must not only address prevention of unauthorized personnel from obstructing or even entering the mine, but must also identify areas where they can wait, and must make provisions for local clergy, food, and perhaps even housing during prolonged operations in inclement weather. Ties to local community services such as law enforcement and medical support should be provided.
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From page 76... ...
While the objectives of the space program permitted incurring larger costs in the interest of safety than may be practical in other programs, much of the system safety approach is applicable in other areas, mining among them. The system safety approach is a composite of elements from a number of diverse disciplines such as systems engineering, statistics, reliability theory, information theory, control theory, management, and behavioral psychology.
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From page 77... ...
The injuries sustained in non-disaster situations appear to be of the same general type and severity as seen in non-mine medical services. Most of the larger mines have "emergency room" facilities staffed by trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs)
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From page 78... ...
Efforts by the federal government to upgrade the level of prehospital emergency care has led to the evolution throughout much of the country of an integrated emergency response system with excellent coordination, not only among emergency medical programs, but also with fire, police, public works and disaster response systems. Coordinated communication systems are evolving across the country that require only one radio in an emergency vehicle but allow it to communicate directly with all other agencies by interfacing frequencies at the radio communication center.
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From page 79... ...
Coordination of the emergency medical facilities in the community with facilities at the mine will insure the availability of well-trained people, will prevent duplication, and will avoid reliance on people who were trained to a given level but, because of lack of practice, are no longer able to provide the excellence of care that is expected. 4.4 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS An adequate communication system, like the nervous system of the body, makes possible the coordination of all other systems.
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From page 80... ...
Ideally, if disaster response were treated as a complete system, all four would interact: emergency medical services, along with emergency communications and other aspects of disaster planning, would be developed by mine operators under federal guidelines; plans would be approved by a federal agency; and the techniques of system safety analysis would be applied both to the operators' plans and to the federal agency's response mechanisms. The groundwork for such a systems approach to mine disasters does not yet exist, and will not exist until a foundation is laid through research in disaster simulation, disaster plan assessment, training techniques, and the like.
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From page 81... ...
Duplicating all emergency response facilities in mining districts around the country may not be feasible under realistic budgetary and manpower constraints. Even if such facilities could be duplicated, the requirements for upgrading the equipment and maintaining skills through simulated disaster drills could probably not be carried out as expeditiously as is necessary to keep the facilities and personnel in satisfactory operating condition.
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From page 82... ...
Among the critical elements of disaster planning are provisions for identifying, immediately after a disaster occurs, the individual who will "take charge" and be responsible for the disaster response operation, and provisions for the division of responsibility and accountability among the federal, state, and local agencies, the mine operator, the union, and other groups participating in the disaster operation. While this is clearly an MSHA responsibility, the Bureau of Mines should provide the necessary foundation by conducting research aimed at developing methodologies for testing and evaluating mine emergency plans using simulation and other appropriate techniques.
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From page 83... ...
This will make it possible to determine the adequacy of the medical training, equipment, and procedures in the mine emergency response system, and to identify research needed to enhance the likelihood of survival for those injured in disasters. Mine Emergency Operations The federal government's mine emergency response capability, and specifically MSHA's Mine Emergency Operations (MEO)
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