Tackling coal mine fires

Coal mine fires can be difficult to detect and extinguish. When people struggle to control them, environmental damage and air pollution worsen. How should professionals reduce the likelihood of these emergencies and the destruction they cause?

Raise awareness among workers

When miners know the top causes of fires, they are more prepared to spot and flag issues that could cause problems if not fixed. However, many preventive measures occur before they arrive to start working. For example, site leaders must design and install ventilation systems specific to mine layouts. These additions reduce the concentration of explosive gases, but teams should still use monitoring tools to ensure the levels are not dangerously high.

Additionally, malfunctioning electrical equipment causes approximately 13% of fires in coal mines. However, preventive maintenance can reduce those issues. Employees are equally important for alerting supervisors if they notice abnormalities with underground equipment.

Improve detection methods

Mining supervisors have numerous options for detecting the conditions that could cause fires. Early awareness could result in fire prevention, which is better than extinguishing blazes after they start.

One method is to attach methane monitors to continuous mining machines while protecting them from environmental factors such as dust and water, which could reduce their effectiveness.

Additionally, lasers can detect hazardous gases, but their power consumption must be low enough to prevent ignition and coal dust smoldering. Some detection efforts centre on radon – a gas that enters buildings built on most soils. It is hazardous to humans, but some forward-thinking radon-based options exist for detecting mine fires.

Higher radon levels in underground areas may be associated with hotter temperatures. Infrared thermal imaging allows people to find places with an above-average risk of fires.

Deploy well-established firefighting methods

Effectively curbing fires can reduce the air pollution and environmental damage that compounds when these emergencies persist and remain out of control. Additionally, these blazes that begin and stay underground are challenging to detect and address.

Mine owners and those tasked with the job prioritise using methods that keep them as far from danger as possible. In one case of a 2024 underground fire at an Australian mining site, professionals used several remote-controlled bulldozers to seal the affected area, starving the blaze of the necessary oxygen. They also relied on a truck-mounted fire-suppression unit to pump nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water into the mine.

Understand the long-term effects

Those serious about minimising air pollution and environmental damage linked to fires need to realise that the effects can persist after the initial event. Over a century of mining in a Zimbabwean town has caused severely polluted water, sinkholes, and infrastructural collapses. Parties familiar with the situation also say fissures cause small earthquakes or surface explosions because of underground fires.

However, researchers have found positive news associated with outcomes, too. One study investigated coal mine fire exposure and fractional exhaled nitric oxide levels. Although research has shown adverse short and medium-term air pollution effects, this work showed no long-term eosinophilic airway inflammation.

Remain proactive

These are some of the many best practices for minimising coal mine fires' hazardous effects and damage. Mining professionals should keep their knowledge current and remain open to pursuing new measures as they become available.

Author bio

Jane Marsh is a seasoned environmental journalist and the Editor-in-Chief of Environment.co, specialising in in-depth coverage of environmental trends, sustainability, and the evolving energy landscape. With her work featured on leading platforms like Renewable Energy Magazine, Manufacturing.net, and Nation of Change, Jane brings a keen perspective on the intersection of energy innovation and industry practices.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/23062025/tackling-coal-mine-fires/