The Pennsylvania-based company said it was recently made aware of an event where a CSE SCSR was housed in a pouch manufactured by another company and the rescuer could not be removed.
While the company’s relatively new self-rescuer long duration units did not have an “approved” pouch, it stressed to all mines that using CSE rescuers that now all SCSR pouches perform consistently over time to both protect and provide easy access to an SRLD or its popular SR-100 model.
“CSE manufactures pouches designed specifically to carry the SR-100 and SRLD,” the company said in a safety alert also released by MSHA.
“Pouches made by other companies may not perform to the same standard. When CSE was shown a self-rescuer long duration that was kept in a pouch not made by CSE the pouch had shrunk so tightly around the rescuer that the SRLD could not be removed.”
CSE has asked miners to remember the importance of pre-shift visual inspections and to include removing SCSRs from their pouches as part of that review.
“If the SCSR does not easily glide out of the pouch, notify your supervisor or appropriate personnel to request another,” the company said.
“This critical, daily, pre-shift inspection will ensure that your SCSR is accessible and in working condition when you need it most.”
The OEM confirmed that no other pouch manufacturers have contacted it about designing or testing materials to use which would perform at the same level as a CSE pouch.
Officials said mines should contact CSE with questions about performing daily visual inspections, or to request a manual daily inspection poster or CSE-provided training class.
