There is something wrong when 400+ Turkish miners die and there is so little comment in the rest of the world or resolution by all countries who engage in deep mining to see that it doesnt happen again. This mine is a lignite mine, meaning brown coal or coal not old enough to be the high quality of American coal. It doesnt produce much methane - the factor that introduces ventilation problems in our American mines - but once set on fire, lignite is extremely difficult to extinguish. Fragmentary reports indicate that fresh air was pumped into this mine when it caught on fire which is probably the worst thing that could have been done. Photos of Turkish miners do not show them with rescue packs and we dont know if they are taught to barricade themselves off from smoke and fire. Probably not. This was a true muck-up and I would hope that the Turkish government would ask for help from our Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), one of our best governmental agencies which is actually worth the funding it gets, for assistance in establishing safety standards, training, and equipment. My heart goes out to these miners and their families. By the way, this lignite, which burns grossly inefficiently, is used to produce electricity for Turkey and Europe. The Europeans need to step up and insist on safe working conditions for Turkish miners if theyre using them to keep their lights on. Homer Hickam Official Page
Posted on: Sun, 18 May 2014 18:52:26 +0000