Subsequent investigations by the manufacturer concluded the units had not been properly maintained by the mining operation and should have been withdrawn from use. A normal visual inspection should have been enough to reveal the problem, according to the company.

 

In Australia, the debate about moving to oxygen self-rescuers and abandoning filter type rescuers is unresolved with mines arguing that they do not wish to make expensive mistakes.

 

The Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) has committed $52,000 to the re-evaluation of oxygen self-rescuers. It is the second attempt at evaluating the effectiveness of this type of equipment. In 1997, safety consultant Paul MacKenzie-Wood was commissioned to examine a broader range of issues including the ability of a miner to rescue himself, particularly with respect to the amount of oxygen required.

 

In this earlier study, MacKenzie﷓Wood highlighted some of the problems that had been experienced overseas when oxygen self-rescuers were introduced. His report noted that some designs had worked effectively when left in caches but became unserviceable when they were regularly worn by miners. A number of Australian companies did not heed the warnings contained in the report, overlooking the scientific analysis. As a consequence mine operators have experienced further in-service failures of these critical self-rescue devices.

 

Random testing has highlighted the inadequacy of some of the brands and caused several underground operators to call for a second look at oxygen self-rescuers before they make the capital expenditure commitment required to acquire them. This cost alone could amount to several million dollars with a recurrence of this cost at five-year intervals if a poorly performing unit is chosen in the first place.

 

A number of arguments were raised when Australia’s Longwalls tried to get an industry view on the merit of moving to oxygen self-rescuers. At one end of the spectrum the “remain the same” group expound the view that in not one Australian disaster would the rescue devices have saved any more miners than existing filter self-rescuers that have been used for years. This view is countered with the recommendation from the Moura No.2 disaster which suggested that had any men survived the first event, they could only have rescued themselves had they been equipped with oxygen self-rescuers.

 

While many Queensland mines have made the switch to oxygen self-rescuers, some New South Wales underground operators are determined not to encounter some of the earlier problems experienced in introducing the new self-rescuers, and are awaiting conclusions of the ACARP study. Meanwhile, the NSW Department of Mineral Resources has provided exemptions to Powercoal operations using oxygen self-rescuers while an outcome is pending.

MacKenzie-Wood recently returned from visits to South Africa and the US where oxygen self-rescuer technology was introduced several years ago. He said NSW and Queensland mines could learn from expensive mistakes made by mines in these countries.

 

One US initiative was increasing the involvement of mines inspectors in maintenance checks. Improved care and maintenance of oxygen self-rescuers is expected to be one important outcome of the current ACARP scoping study. MacKenzie-Wood expects to present a report on his findings by early October this year.

* This article originally appeared in the September 2000 edition of Australia's Longwalls.