The Ulyanovskaya mine has a new system of methane concentration monitoring, but it is not installed in all roadways, experts say.
Photo: Maxim Fedorov
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Miners in Ulyanovskaya Killed by Methane Trap – Scientists
The city of Novokuznetsk on Sunday held the last funerals for miners who were killed in an explosion in the Ulyanovskaya coal mine on March 19. Five bodies are still left unburied, and two miners are reported missing. The two men are believed to have been close to the center of the blast, which makes it almost impossible to recover their bodies. Meanwhile, scientists say that the explosion was triggered by the so-called methane trap which is hard to detect.
Four corpses are still left identified at the forensic morgue in Novokuznetsk. The bodies are to be sent to Moscow later this week for further identification. Families of the missing miners have already submitted samples of their DNA for analysis.
The probe into the cause of the deadliest mine accident in a decade is still ongoing. Ulyanovskaya miners blame the explosion on violation of safety regulations. They said the miners are encouraged to work faster and harvest more coal for extra pay, which leads to carelessness. An average monthly wage at Ulyanovskaya is between 8,000 and 15,000 rubles. “You can’t work for this money and keep to safety regulations,” says Maxim Pupko, a miner. The disaster is likely to shake up the management of the mine. A Kommersant source in the Yuzhkuzbassugol coal miner says the company’s director general Georgy Lavrik will almost certainly step down.
In the meantime, scientists point to the fact that recent disasters occurred in mines where production rather than research is a top priority. Methane is concentrating in the mined-out space under the screening layer, or the trap, experts at Siberia State Industrial University based in Novokuznetsk explain. When the roof of a mine shaft collapses, which happened in Ulyanovskaya, the screening layer goes down rapidly, making the trap narrower and releasing methane. Any small sparkle is able to trigger an explosion in the mine. Researchers call on management of all coal mines to halt production if there is any indication of a possible danger.
The Ulyanovskaya mine had a new system of methane concentration monitoring, but it was not installed in all roadways, according to specialists.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 26, 2007
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