The explosion that took place in the mine quarry of the Turkish Hard Coal Institution (TTK) Amasra Institution in Bartın recently injured us all deeply. According to the latest statements, unfortunately, we lost 41 workers.
on 13 May 2014 Mining disaster in Soma As someone who has experienced it on the spot, I know how much pain it leaves behind. Finally, this disaster in Bartın reminds us how important occupational health and safety is, especially when it comes to coal mines.
So, how is Turkey in terms of occupational health and safety, which should not fall off our agenda and we should always remember not only when such accidents happen? Why are the losses in the mining sector less in other countries, but more in us? What should we do and what lessons should we learn to prevent such accidents? We tried to answer these questions by consulting the experts on the subject.
The cause of the accident in Bartın was announced as the ‘Grizu explosion’. In fact, charcoal is a gas that is mostly pure methane and has the characteristics of being easily ignited and explosive.
The risk posed by this gas is greater in older coal seams. In a coal mine, if the proportion of coal mine exceeds 1%, it is required by law. take urgent action needs. Speaking to Webtekno about the accident and the fire in Bartın, Mining Engineer and Class B Occupational Safety Specialist Çağrı Sıralımentions that the fire is extremely risky for coal mines with the following words:
“To state a reason in advance for the accident in Bartın is against science. The language of each mine and the color of each occupational accident is different. Their full emergence depends on the root-cause analysis to be made. But to put it as a foresight, this accident is the big problem of coal mines for years. methane gas explosion. To put it in a language that everyone can understand, just as an explosion occurs with the slightest spark as a result of gas accumulation in an environment where the gas used in our kitchens is forgotten openly; The underground methane-induced firestorm explosion is a similar event. Methane is a gas that can easily ignite and cause an explosion. The concentration in the environment must be closely monitored. These are already followed by automation systems.”
In 2014, we experienced a major mining disaster in Soma. While 301 of our workers lost their lives, 88 of our workers were injured. The cause of this accident was the explosion of the firewood. In the 8 years that have passed since then, 20 more mining accidents have occurred in our country.
When we look at the mining accidents that have taken place since 1941, While more than 3,000 people lost their livesMore than 100,000 people were injured. Again, according to the information conveyed by Euronews based on SGK data between 1996 and 2006, 8.71% of work accidents, 49.20% of occupational disease cases, 26.76% of permanent incapacity cases, and 26.76% of death cases. 10.05 of them occurred in the mining sector. Alright Why do these accidents happen so often? According to Mining Engineer Sırıklı, the fact that unauthorized people who do not have technical training on the subject take part in these accidents also play a major role:
‘One of the main problems that needs to be fixed…’
“One of the biggest problems I experienced in the quarries where I worked as an underground mining engineer was that unauthorized people, who did not have technical training on the subject, and who were called quarry chiefs, took charge of engineers as supervisors. The decisions made by these people have always been the subject of discussion, as they cannot be as authoritative as an engineer. In fact, this has been prevented by legislative laws, but engineers working in the field as 3-shift supervisors, especially in small-scale underground mining enterprises, always work as subordinates of these people in terms of duty. The blame of engineers and occupational safety experts as scapegoats in the last work accidents has already started to push people who are experts and well-educated in their fields away from this sector. That’s why of the main problems that need to be fixed That’s one of them.”
Turkey ranks first in deaths as a result of mining accidents. According to the information on Wikipedia, while 127 people per 100 million tons died in China in 2008; Unfortunately, this number is 722 in our country.
A few miners working in America, where the loss rate is the lowest
In addition, China managed to reduce the number of people who lost their lives to 37 in 2013. In the United States of America, which is one of the world’s largest coal producing countries after China, 1 to 6 people per 100 million tons of production lost their lives. Our other guest, Mining Engineer and Class A Occupational Safety Specialist, Erdinç Günay, explained that the reason why we lost so much compared to other countries is, “Due to the high amount of coal production in China, coal mines in China fatal work accidents it is quite a lot. However, among European Union members Having the highest number of fatal work accidents in our countryIt is concluded that it is not due to the lack of technological measures, but to the insufficient control of the implementation of the measures taken,” he explains.
So, can firestorm explosions be prevented?
Mining Engineer Günay said, “All enterprises have a central gas monitoring station and sensors to detect and monitor the gases released at all underground production and preparation points. In the TTK Amasra Institution, where the accident occurred, there are also technological measures necessary to prevent the occurrence of the risk by cutting the energy with automatic circuit breakers (ODK) when the methane (CH4) gas reaches the danger limit values. When the methane (CH4) amount reaches 1%, the electricity of the secondary propellers is cut off by the ODKs and possible firestorm explosion trying to prevent.
‘The furnaces are emptied when the amount of methane reaches 2%’
In addition, sometimes it is necessary to ignite explosives with dynamite for excavation and advancement underground. Use of explosives When the amount of methane in the bee comes to 1%, ignition is not made and ignition is cancelled. When the methane (CH4) amount reaches 1.5%, the electricity of the chain conveyors used for underground coal transportation is cut off and a possible firestorm explosion is tried to be prevented. When the amount of methane (CH4) in the quarry reaches 2%, the workers working in the quarry are taken out and the quarries are emptied,” he explains how firestorm explosions can be prevented.
So, what inspections should be done and what lessons should we learn to prevent such accidents from happening again?
‘All previous accidents could have been prevented’
Pointing out that the firepit is the biggest threat if the necessary care and attention is not given, Erdinç Günay said, “If you cannot adequately fight the fire in coal seams that are suitable for fire, or if you do not perform the CH4 drainage in the quarries with a firebox, if you do not give the necessary care and attention to the drilling works, quarry fires and firedamp explosions will occur. as a threat will always appear. For this reason, we can say that all major mining accidents in the past were preventable accidents,” he says.
‘It should be determined which application is deficient in the law’
Another mining engineer, Sikrikli, reminds that experienced people should take charge in the mining fields and adds: “In each accident, a separate foresight, a separate process works. Risk analysis must be applied. The basis of the accident and the processes that caused the accident should be examined well. It should be determined which application is deficient in the law. Someone who has never seen the underground If he becomes an expert, the report will not be correct either.
Finally, we leave the word to a mining technician who has been working underground for about 10 years. He chose not to give his name, but his words sounded like an earring:
“While I used to feel fear and excitement when I landed on the ground horse, these go away with time. After all, mining has been going on for years in the region we live in, and it is my father’s profession. We are engaged in a job that is considered the most difficult profession in the world. As an employee, I am aware of this and I think that we are different from other occupational groups. Our priority is always that underground workers work safely.. These include reminding employees of the rules they must abide by, and providing them with protective materials and equipment. We should always be prepared for these accidents with our drills and courses on occupational health and safety. We should establish a cause-effect relationship in every accident and continue the necessary work to prevent it from happening. Let’s not forget that what happened Every little accident can lead to big accidents.”