Operating deep mines safely : TUC-lectures on underground mine safety and emergency response

State-of-the-art mine safety and competent emergency preparedness are essential elements of responsible, productive, healthy, and profitable underground mining. After a brief introduction to the history and theory of occupational safety and health (OSH), the first part of the book presents the skills necessary for a mine manager to safely manage an underground operation. The objectives are to train employees in occupational safety and to effectively lead, instruct and supervise them. A further objective is to improve their risk competence and prepare a health and safety document that includes hazard identification, risk assessment and associated measures for underground workplaces and procedures. The main risks in underground mining are presented in concise overviews that cover appropriate technical, organizational and individual safety measures. These topics are then explored in more detail in workplace inspection leaflets.

Due to the international nature of the TUC's master's program, the literature and legislation cited on occupational safety and health is primarily from Anglo-Saxon sources, including publications of the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva. In addition, the first part contains footnotes with relevant German sub-legal regulations for the interested reader.

The second and third parts of the book are a practical guide to underground emergency response, i.e. fire and explosion protection, mine rescue and self-rescue. The focus is on deep underground mines, particularly deep collieries. Here, methane production and spontaneous coal combustion, and the associated explosion hazards, are at the heart of the mine safety challenges. In addition, the work of the mine rescue brigade is subject to severe climatic conditions, which require both miners and rescuers to be physically fit and to have the appropriate physiological knowledge and safety rules. However, the priority today is to promote the ability of the workforce to rescue and evacuate themselves in the event of an emergency. This can be achieved by implementing appropriate, i.e. advanced, fire and explosion safety measures.

In addition to the authors' own planning and operational experience, the second and third parts of the book are based on practice-oriented technical papers from German mine rescue centers and mining research institutes, as well as on relevant technical regulations issued by German mining authorities. Due to its specific local origin and importance, this literature has mainly been published in German. Tables summarize specific contexts and topics for quick reference.