WorldWide Drilling Resource

Dan Carrocci www.drill-safe.com 59 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JULY 2013 National Mine Health and Safety Academy Adapted from Information from the Mine Safety and Health Administration In its continuing effort to protect those working in our Nation’s mines, MSHA’s (Mining Safety and HealthAdministration’s) National Mine Health and SafetyAcademy serves as a central training facility for federal mine inspectors. Dedicated in 1976, the present acad- emy, located in Beckley, West Virginia, houses the largest educational institu- tion in the world devoted solely to health and safety in mining. In addition to train- ing federal mine inspectors, the academy offers training to mine safety profession- als from other government agencies and the mining industry. The classes and materials cover safety and inspection procedures; acci- dent prevention; investigations; industrial hygiene; mine emergency procedures; mining technology; management; and many other subjects. All of these items are designed with one goal - to promote and enhance the health and safety of those who work in our mines. The academy consists of nine bui ldings including a Mine Emergency Operations Building, Mine Rescue Station, and Mine Simulation Laboratory. Students are exposed to a variety of different disciplines in nine different lab- oratories: roof control, ground control, mine emergency and mine rescue, ventilation, electrical, machinery, industrial hygiene, computer, and underground mine sim- ulation. The Mine Simulation Laboratory is an aboveground simulated mine provid- ing hands-on training. The 48,000-square- foot facility has a simulated coal mine with an indoor burn room on the lower level, and a simulated metal/nonmetal mine on the second floor level. The coal mine represents a room- and-pillar configuration with four entries and nine crosscuts. Instructors can arrange different passageways and ventilation. With a burn room located on one end of the simulated coal mine, they can also introduce smoke and make changes in the laboratory to demonstrate different tactics and principles. The simulated metal/nonmetal mine contains passageways, tunnels, stairways, and ladders to simulate different manways and other aspects of mine rescue issues. Fires are built under controlled conditions to teach students fire fighting and emer- gency ventilation techniques which may be encountered in a mine emergency. A 100,000 cubic-foot-per-minute mine fan, controlled by solid state elec- tronics, can vary the volume of air deliv- ered throughout the entries and crosscuts in the two simulated mines. These simulated exercises offer stu- dents the most realistic mine emergency and fire fighting experience. After partic- ipating in the simulation training, students leave with a better idea of how to handle and perform in an actual mine emergency situation. Education is a vital element in any accident prevention program. The primary goal of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy is to promote safer and healthier miners through education.