12th U.S.North American Mine Ventilation Symposium.ppt

12th U.S./North American Mine Ventilation Symposium Outline Introduction Conveyor belt fire incident data Common ignition sources of belt fires Typical combustible materials located in belt entry Fire prevention, detection, and suppression Regulatory requirements Impact of belt fires Summary Introduction Conveyor belt entry fires are a major safety and health risk Quick detection and response is critical to control and extinguishment MSHA reporting criteria has recently changed 30 CFR Part 50 Changed in December 2006 from 30 minutes to the current 10 minute criteria in UG coal mines Fire meeting this criteria must be reported to MSHA within 15 minutes Conveyor Belt Fire Incident Data Belt fires represent 15-20 percent of all underground coal mine fires 1980 to 2005 - 63 belt entry fires Friction heating accounted for 36% of belt entry fires 18% fires caused by friction at belt drive 18% fires caused by friction along belt Frictional heating most common ignition source of belt entry fires Conveyor Belt Fire Incident Data Conveyor Belt Fire Incident Data Aracoma Alma fire not included in previous slide data, occurred after data was published Aracoma Alma belt fire caused by belt rubbing structure – frictional heating Aracoma fire - Ignition source consistent with data (36% of fires caused by frictional heating along conveyor belt) 7 conveyor belt fires reported from 1/1/2006 to 5/16/2008 (including Aracoma 1/19/06) 3 - frictional heating 2 - electrical 1 - rollers/bearings 1 - unknown Belt and Other Combustible Fire Hazards Abundant fuel load in belt entry Conveyor belt Coal (run of the mine coal and fine coal) Hydrocarbons (grease and oil) Roof control (wood supports) Fires in belt entries can propagate quickly Amount of available fuel Fire resistance of conveyor belting Width, thickness, and construction of conveyor belt Ventilation Belt and Other Combustible Fire Hazards Belt entry fires have consumed up to 610 m (2000 ft) of conveyor belting in one