80 FR 56416 - Refuge Alternatives for Underground Coal Mines

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 181 (September 18, 2015)

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will hold a public meeting to gather information on issues and options relevant to miners' escape and refuge. This meeting will supplement the information already received in response to the Agency's Request for Information on Refuge Alternatives for Underground Coal Mines. This meeting provides coal mine operators, coal miners, manufacturers, academia and other interested stakeholders an opportunity to provide information concerning two critical issues: Impediments to the use of built-in- place refuges and enhanced two-way voice communication when using escape breathing devices. This meeting also invites stakeholders to provide input on the current state of refuges in use and recent research and new technology that may lead to the development of a new generation of refuges. MSHA also is reopening the record for public comment.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 181 (Friday, September 18, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56416-56418]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23448]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration

30 CFR Parts 7 and 75

[Docket No. MSHA-2013-0033]
RIN 1219-AB79


Refuge Alternatives for Underground Coal Mines

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; reopening of record.

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SUMMARY: The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will hold a 
public meeting to gather information on issues and options relevant to 
miners' escape and refuge. This meeting will supplement the information 
already received in response to the Agency's Request for Information on 
Refuge Alternatives for Underground Coal Mines. This meeting provides 
coal mine operators, coal miners, manufacturers, academia and other 
interested stakeholders an opportunity to provide information 
concerning two critical issues: Impediments to the use of built-in-
place refuges and enhanced two-way voice communication when using 
escape breathing devices. This meeting also invites stakeholders to 
provide input on the current state of refuges in use and recent 
research and new

[[Page 56417]]

technology that may lead to the development of a new generation of 
refuges. MSHA also is reopening the record for public comment.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on October 19, 2015. All written 
submissions or responses for the record, including relevant data and 
information, must be received by midnight Eastern Standard Time on 
November 16, 2015.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at MSHA's National Mine 
Health and Safety Academy, 1301 Airport Road, Beaver, West Virginia 
25813-9426.
    Requests to speak or make a presentation at the meeting may be made 
to Leah Davis at 202-693-9440 or by one of the following methods:
     Fax: 202-693-9441.
     Electronic Mail: [email protected].
     Mail: MSHA, Office of Standards, Regulations, and 
Variances, 201 12th Street South, Suite 4E401, Arlington, Virginia 
22202-5452.
    Instructions: All submissions must include RIN 1219-AB79 or Docket 
No. MSHA-2013-0033. Do not include personal information that you do not 
want publicly disclosed; MSHA will post all submissions without change 
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    For additional instructions for participation in the public 
meeting, see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read comments received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov or http://www.msha.gov/currentcomments.asp. 
To read background documents, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Review 
the docket in person at MSHA, Office of Standards, Regulations, and 
Variances, 201 12th Street South, Suite 4E401, Arlington, Virginia, 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. Sign in at the receptionist's desk in Suite 4E401.
    Email Notification: To subscribe to receive an email notification 
when MSHA publishes rules, program information, instructions, or 
policy, in the Federal Register, go to http://www.msha.gov/subscriptions/subscribe.aspx.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila A. McConnell, Acting Director, 
Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, MSHA, at 
[email protected] (email), 202-693-9440 (voice), or 202-693-
9441 (facsimile). These are not toll-free numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Meeting

    MSHA invites coal mine operators, coal miners, equipment 
manufacturers, academia, and the public to provide information on the 
current state of refuge alternatives, particularly on the challenges 
related to the use of built-in-place refuges, and enhancing voice 
communication when using escape breathing devices. MSHA especially 
invites coal miners and operators of small underground coal mines to 
participate.
    The information from this meeting will supplement comments to the 
Agency's Request for Information and research from the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This meeting will 
focus on four primary issues: Challenges related to built-in-place 
refuges; miners communicating while using breathing devices during 
escape; advantages and disadvantages of self-contained breathing 
apparatus (SCBA) with refill stations as an escape strategy; and the 
scope and status of new technology or recent research related to the 
installation and use of built-in-place refuges.
    The public meeting will be held in the auditorium at MSHA's 
National Mine Health and Safety Academy on October 19, 2015, beginning 
with Registration at 1 p.m. and concluding at 5 p.m. or when the last 
speaker has spoken.
    The meeting will be conducted in an informal manner. Presenters and 
attendees may provide written information to the court reporter for 
inclusion in the rulemaking record. MSHA will make the transcript of 
the meeting available on www.regulations.gov and on the Agency's Web 
site at http://www.msha.gov/tscripts.htm and include it in the 
rulemaking record.

II. Background

    Continued development of refuge equipment and technology is 
expected to enhance the effectiveness of refuges and improve miners' 
chances of surviving a mine emergency when escape is impossible. Since 
the refuge alternatives rule became effective on March 2, 2009, 
stakeholders have gained experience, and research has led to some 
technological advancements and innovations. To benefit from this 
experience and research, on August 8, 2013, MSHA published a Request 
for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register (78 FR 48593) asking for 
data, comments, and information on issues and options that may present 
alternative or even more effective solutions for miners' survival 
during underground coal mine emergencies than the protections provided 
by the existing rule.
    In response to requests, MSHA extended the comment period four 
times to give interested parties additional time to review research 
reports from NIOSH and other relevant information and provide 
substantive comments. The comment period closed on April 2, 2015.

III. Questions and Issues for Discussion

A. Built-In-Place Refuge Alternatives

    In its report, ``Facilitating the Use of Built-In-Place Refuge 
Alternatives in Mines,'' RI 9698, NIOSH makes recommendations on the 
use of built-in-place shelters, as a type of refuge with a superior 
environment when compared to tent and steel pre-fabricated structures. 
The report addresses three issues: (1) Locating built-in-place refuges 
further from the face than the 1,000-foot limit required under the 
existing standard; (2) providing a consistent process for the design 
and approval of refuge stoppings; and (3) delivering a reliable supply 
of clean, breathable air to a built-in-place refuge. NIOSH recommends 
allowing operators to locate built-in-place refuges further than 1,000 
feet from the face, but only if the refuges:
     Provide a constant supply of air into the refuge via 
either a protected compressed air line or a borehole from the surface.
     Provide a minimum of 85 cubic feet of space per occupant.
     Maintain the interior of the refuge under positive 
pressure when not in use to ensure that the refuge contains breathable 
air immediately on entry and to keep contaminated air from entering the 
refuge when miners enter.

MSHA invites comments and information on the following issues:
    1. How would MSHA's acceptance of built-in-place refuges located 
further from the face and meeting the above criteria affect your 
decision on whether or not to install a built-in-place refuge? Discuss 
the relative merits of location versus design and performance. Please 
comment on the advantages and disadvantages of NIOSH's recommended 
approach for built-in-place refuges; the feasibility of installing 
built-in-place shelters in different mine settings; the risks related 
to a refuge location that is further away from the working face; and 
the benefits of a built-in-place refuge's environment and performance 
characteristics.
    2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the following 
methods of providing breathable air in refuges:

[[Page 56418]]

Using supplied air from the surface versus using air from cylinders 
stored underground; or delivering surface-supplied air through a 
borehole directly into a built-in-place refuge versus compressed air 
lines run through the mine.
    3. Discuss options for piping air over several miles through a mine 
to provide a clean air supply and sufficient air pressure to a built-
in-place refuge when a borehole directly into the refuge is 
unavailable. What issues remain to be addressed for the protection of 
piping used to provide compressed air to a refuge?
    4. What are the risks and benefits to miners' safety, if any, if a 
constant air supply from the surface is provided to a refuge and 
exhausted from the refuge into the mine, as opposed to exhausting to 
the surface?
    5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using SCBAs with 
refill stations as compared to using SCSRs with caches in escapeways?
    6. Discuss and describe new and improved technology for built-in-
place refuges' designs. What is the impact of these designs on the cost 
of built-in-place refuges? For example, would a moveable wall or other 
modular design make the use of a built-in-place refuge more feasible 
and economical?

B. Miners' Ability To Communicate During Escape

    Miners' ability to communicate with each other can be critical 
during mine emergencies. Under existing rules, miners use self-
contained self-rescue (SCSR) escape respirators that have a mouthpiece. 
A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) has a full-face respirator 
mask. Miners must remove the mouthpiece of an SCSR to speak, or remove 
the full-face respirator mask of an SCBA to communicate clearly. These 
actions expose miners to deadly gases in the mine atmosphere.
    7. Discuss the challenges associated with providing two-way 
communication when using escape SCBAs or SCSRs. What technologies, such 
as voice amplifiers or wireless communication systems, are available 
for escape SCBAs or SCSRs that can enhance voice communication among 
miners?
    8. Discuss how this technology can be integrated with a mine's two-
way post-accident communication system.
    MSHA will accept written responses, data, and information for the 
record from any interested party, including those not participating in 
the public meeting, through November 16, 2015.

Joseph A. Main,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2015-23448 Filed 9-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P