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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (703) 235-1452
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is
requiring that mine operators immediately arrange to replace or retrofit
certain self-contained self-rescue breathing units. Ten CSE SR-100 self-rescue
units manufactured before June 1994 have been found to have deteriorated
breathing hoses, a critical safety defect.
"Every underground coal miner knows that these devices may
make the difference between life and death in a mine fire or explosion," said
Davitt McAteer, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "A
unit with a bad hose will not function in an emergency. We have found 10
deteriorated hoses in older units. Operators need to replace these older units
as fast as possible."
Defective units identified by MSHA, the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and CSE Corporation were all
manufactured in 1990 through 1993 and had hoses made of natural rubber.
Starting on June 7, 1994, CSE used a silicon rubber breathing hose in its
SCSR's. No deterioration has been detected in the silicon rubber hoses. More
than 400 units have been examined with manufacture dates from 1990 to 1997.
MSHA inspectors will visit all underground coal mines where
CSE SR-100 devices are used to make sure the operators know about the problem
and are taking immediate action. Mine operators will need to obtain a purchase
order to secure an adequate number of retrofitted or replacement devices. All
affected CSE SR-100 devices must be replaced or retrofitted by January 31,
2000.
Mine operators will also need to immediately inform all
underground miners about the problem and explain the actions being taken at the
mine to make sure miners have adequate SCSR protection in the interim.
"We're working cooperatively with industry and labor to
deal with this problem," McAteer said.
MSHA advises that mine operators using SR-100 SCSR's dated
before June 1994 should make sure miners have as many additional devices
available to them as soon as possible. Mine operators should give special
attention to ensuring that miners who have to travel throughout the mine have
SCSR's not in the affected group.
An MSHA coordinator will collect and share information
about which mines need replacement SCSR's and where extra units are available.
MSHA will allow co-mingling of different manufacturers'
SCSR models if miners are trained to use all the different devices deployed at
their mine.
"We are in the midst of the Winter Alert season when,
historically, mine fires and explosions have been more numerous," McAteer said.
"Every miner needs to know that the SCSR unit at hand will provide protection
in an emergency. The mining community needs to take quick action to replace
self-rescuers that might be defective."
MSHA began its investigation into the CSE units after a
miner opened a SCSR unit during a recent fire and found holes in the breathing
hose.
Federal mining regulations require that all underground
coal miners be supplied with a breathing device that will provide at least one
hour of oxygen in a mine emergency such as a fire or explosion.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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