Coal Mining Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/90-97)

Safe Operating Procedures for Transporting Persons

97 Where a cage or mine car in a vertical shaft is used for transporting persons and is also used for transporting materials, the cage or mine car shall not be used for transporting persons at the same time as materials are being transported.

• 98 (1) A cage or mine car that is used for transporting persons shall be in the charge of a qualified person.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), no person shall be transported underground at a speed greater than 6 m/s unless

  • (a) the hoisting engine, including the safety devices connected thereto, is designed for speeds greater than 6 m/s; and

  • (b) where rail tracks are used, the rail track is ballasted, graded and fish-plated and is designed for mine cars travelling at speeds greater than 6 m/s.

• (3) No person shall be transported underground at a speed greater than the speed for which the cage or mine car is designed.

Standards for Diesel Equipment

99 Every diesel engine that is used underground shall be fitted with an inlet and exhaust-flame trap.

Safety Procedures

• 100 (1) The mine manager shall prepare in writing and implement safe procedures for the operation of diesel locomotives and internal combustion engines underground.

• (2) The procedures referred to in subsection (1) shall specify

  • (a) the location and method of refuelling the locomotives and engines;

  • (b) that no operator of a diesel engine shall leave it unattended while the engine is running; and

  • (c) that there shall always be an adequate supply of dry sand to enable the diesel locomotive to complete any journey that it begins.

101 The employer shall submit a copy of the procedures referred to in subsection 100(1) and any changes in those procedures to the Coal Mining Safety Commission for approval at least 30 days before the implementation of the procedures or changed procedures.

Operator Qualifications

102 No person shall operate a diesel locomotive in any underground portion of a coal mine unless the person

• (a) has at least one year’s experience in a coal mine of which at least 90 days have been spent in work associated with the undergound operation of a diesel locomotive; and

• (b) is trained and authorized to operate the diesel locomotive in that portion of the coal mine.

Maintenance, Inspection and Tests

• 103 (1) At least once every 24 hours, a qualified diesel mechanic shall

  • (a) inspect every diesel engine in service underground; and

  • (b) supervise the replacement of each diesel engine exhaust-flame trap with a clean trap.

• (2) The qualified diesel mechanic referred to in subsection (1) shall make a written report of the results of each inspection and supervision made by the mechanic in a book kept for that purpose.

• 104 (1) At least once every seven days, a qualified person shall

  • (a) inspect every diesel engine;

  • (b) test the effectiveness of the brakes of every diesel locomotive; and

  • (c) replace the inlet-flame trap with a clean inlet-flame trap on each diesel engine.

• (2) The qualified person referred to in subsection (1) shall make a written report of the results of each inspection and test made by the person in a book kept for that purpose.

105 No diesel engine shall be used underground unless all defects identified in an inspection, supervision or test referred to in section 103 or 104 are corrected.

Procedures for Battery Locomotives

• 106 (1) Where battery locomotives are used underground, the mine manager shall prepare in writing and implement safe procedures for the installation, operation and maintenance of battery locomotives.

• (2) The employer shall keep a copy of the procedures referred to in subsection (1) readily available for examination by employees at the coal mine in which the locomotives are used.

Battery Locomotive Standards

107 Every battery locomotive shall be equipped with a methanometer that gives a visual warning to the operator of the locomotive when the concentration of methane gas reaches 1 per cent.

Charging Stations

• 108 (1) Every charging station underground shall be

  • (a) equipped with an automatic fire suppression system; and

  • (b) vented directly into the return airway.

• (2) The employer shall, at least 90 days before the construction of a charging station begins, submit to the Coal Mining Safety Commission for approval

  • (a) a plan of the coal mine showing the location of the charging station;

  • (b) a ventilation plan showing air-flow directions and quantities in respect of the charging station;

  • (c) detailed specifications for the charging equipment; and

  • (d) a general arrangement drawing of the charging station showing the location of the charging equipment and other electrical equipment.

PART IVVentilation

Airways

109 Where reasonably practicable, main intake and return airways shall be separated by not less than 30 m of natural strata.

Ventilation Systems

• 110 (1) All underground portions of a coal mine shall be ventilated in such a manner that

  • (a) dangerous concentrations of flammable or noxious gases are prevented;

  • (b) the concentration of respirable dust in the air does not exceed the levels referred to in section 111;

  • (c) as far as is practicable, air is not recirculated;

  • (d) the oxygen in the general body of the air exceeds 19 per cent; and

  • (e) the quantity of air circulating dilutes the concentration of carbon dioxide to less than 1.25 per cent.

• (2) Where the concentration of flammable gas in the general body of the air in the intake airway to a working face, measured at a location not more than 100 m from that face, exceeds 0.5 per cent, the employer shall

  • (a) report that fact to a safety officer at the district office; and

  • (b) stop all activities in the section until the concentration is reduced to less than 0.5 per cent.

Levels of Respirable Dust Underground

• 111 (1) For the purposes of this section and section 112, the concentration of respirable dust in the air shall be measured from respirable dust samples taken by a MRDE Cassella 113A respirable dust sampling instrument or an instrument that has been calibrated to duplicate the results of the MRDE Cassella 113A.

• (2) The concentration of respirable dust in the air underground shall not exceed the following levels:

  • (a) in a longwall section,

    • (i) 3 mg/m³, measured at any location 70 m from the longwall face in the intake airway, and

    • (ii) 6 mg/m³, measured at any location 70 m from the longwall face in the return airway; and

  • (b) in a development roadway,

    • (i) 5 mg/m³, where the coal extracted is greater than 70 per cent of the total material extracted, measured at any location at the face of the roadway, and

    • (ii) 3 mg/m³, where the non-coal material extracted is greater than 30 per cent of the total material extracted, measured at any location at the face of the roadway.

• 112 (1) A qualified person shall measure and record the concentration of respirable dust in the air at the locations referred to in subsection 111(2) at least once every month.

• (2) The employer shall, once every month, send a copy of the records referred to in subsection (1) to a safety officer at the district office.

Ventilation Plan

• 113 (1) At least 30 days before the introduction or alteration of a ventilation system underground, the employer shall submit a plan of the proposed ventilation system to the Coal Mining Safety Commission for approval.

• (2) The plan referred to in subsection (1) shall indicate

  • (a) the location of all fans and their capacities;

  • (b) the location of all regulators, airways, stoppings, doors and ducts;

  • (c) the direction of air circulation;

  • (d) the minimum quantity of air that it is proposed to circulate through each section shown in the plan; and

  • (e) the location and type of stone-dust and water barriers.

• (3) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of adjustments in a ventilation system that are necessary to regulate and compensate for the normal day-to-day variations in ventilation conditions underground.

Fans — Basic Standards

• 114 (1) Every main fan shall be

  • (a) equipped with devices that are capable of reversing the airflow controlled by the main fan;

  • (b) located above ground in a fan house constructed of non-flammable materials; and

  • (c) offset from all shafts or connections to the underground portions of the coal mine.

• (2) Every fan house referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall be provided with a pressure release door or other device that is easily opened by the force of an explosion.

• (3) No combustible material shall be stored in a fan house referred to in paragraph (1)(b).

Safe Operating Procedures for Booster Fans

• 115 (1) No booster fan shall be installed unless a ventilation survey is carried out to demonstrate the necessity for the booster fan, the expected performance range while in operation, the location of the booster fan and its effect on the remainder of the ventilation network.

• (2) Ninety days before the installation of a booster fan, the employer shall submit to the Coal Mining Safety Commission for approval a copy of the survey referred to in subsection (1) and a plan for the operation and maintenance of the booster fan.

• (3) Every booster fan shall be located in such a manner that, if it stops, it will not restrict the free passage of air delivered by the main fan.

• (4) The booster fan system shall be designed so that routine inspection and maintenance may be carried out without stopping the booster fan or interfering with the provision of ventilation by the booster fan.

• (5) The power to a booster fan shall be automatically cut off if the percentage of flammable gases in the intake air passing through the fan drive room exceeds 0.5 per cent.

• (6) Every booster fan shall have an automatic fire suppression system to suppress fires that may occur in the fan drive room or within 15 m on either side of the booster fan.

• (7) The employer shall provide a means to control recirculation of air through the booster fan.

Safe Operating Procedures for Fans

• 116 (1) Where a main fan, booster fan or auxiliary fan stops for any reason, every person who is in an area that is affected by the stoppage shall be evacuated to a place that is ventilated in accordance with subsection 110(1).

• (2) A qualified person shall, before any other person enters an area that has been evacuated pursuant to subsection (1), inspect the area to determine whether it is ventilated in accordance with subsection 110(1).

• (3) Where a main fan or booster fan stops for any reason for more than 30 minutes, the mine manager shall, without delay, submit a written report of the circumstances under which it stopped to a safety officer at the district office.

• (4) Where an auxiliary fan stops, no person shall restart the auxiliary fan unless a qualified person has

  • (a) inspected the area underground that is serviced by the auxiliary fan and has tested for flammable gases; and

  • (b) informed the person that it is safe to restart the auxiliary fan.

• (5) The mine manager shall prepare procedures to be followed in the event of the stoppage of an auxiliary fan and shall post a copy of those procedures in a conspicuous place at the surface of the coal mine.

117 All main fans and booster fans and associated equipment shall be inspected by a qualified person at intervals of not more than 30 minutes.

• 118 (1) Every qualified person who inspects a main fan, a booster fan or any associated equipment shall be authorized to do so and shall hold a certificate as a mine mechanic or a mine electrician.

• (2) Every qualified person who inspects a main fan, a booster fan or any associated equipment shall record the results of the inspection in a book kept for that purpose.

Procedures for Ventilation Surveys

• 119 (1) For every portion of a coal mine, the mine manager shall prepare and keep up to date written procedures for ventilation surveys.

• (2) The procedures referred to in subsection (1) shall

  • (a) include a requirement for a volumetric ventilation survey to be made in every underground portion of the coal mine at least once every month; and

  • (b) be certified by an engineer.

• (3) The mine manager shall submit a written report of each ventilation survey made in accordance with the procedures referred to in subsection (1) to a safety officer at the district office within 15 days after the end of the month in which the ventilation survey is made.

Deficiency in Air

120 Where the quality or quantity of air underground is not in accordance with subsection 110(1), the mine manager shall, without delay, take measures to correct the deficiency.

Ventilation Measurements and Reports

• 121 (1) Immediately before the beginning of every shift and at least once every day, the barometric pressure and temperature out of doors above ground at a coal mine shall be measured and recorded by a qualified person or by mechanical means.

• (2) The mine manager shall, within 24 hours after the making of a record referred to in subsection (1), countersign the record or a copy thereof.

• 122 (1) Immediately after the taking of a measurement referred to in subsection 121(1), a notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the lamp house setting out the barometric pressure and the trend of the barometric pressure at the time of the posting of the notice.

• (2) The notice referred to in subsection (1) shall be kept posted until it is replaced by a notice of a subsequent measurement.

Ventilation Inspections

• 123 (1) A qualified person who holds a certificate as a mine examiner and carries a locked-flame safety lamp shall

  • (a) inspect at least once every seven days all shafts, other than shafts that are used solely for ventilation, and all accessible stoppings underground;

  • (b) inspect at least once every seven days the bottom and top of each shaft that is used solely for ventilation; and

  • (c) make a written report of each inspection referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) to the underground manager.

• (2) The report referred to in paragraph (1)(c) shall set out

  • (a) the date and time of the inspection;

  • (b) a statement as to the condition of the airways and accessible stoppings; and

  • (c) the qualified person’s safety observations respecting the roof support, ventilation, stone dust and accumulations of water and concentrations of flammable or noxious gases in the airways and accessible stoppings.