CSE Corp. says it was able to identify chemical contamination of the outside of these SR-MP training units by applying an agent that reacts with the unit’s potassium-oxide and turns purple.
Thanks to Coal Tattoo reader Dell Spade for a very interesting comment on last night’s post, MSHA issues alert on SCSR training unit, and for some hints on following-up on this story.
The general public probably never heard of an SCSR (self-contained self-rescuer) before Jan. 2, 2006. But the importance of these little devices became all too clear as the Sago Mine disaster unfolded — and even more clear after Aracoma and Darby.
So this incident involving problems with CSE’s SR-MP training device deserves more attention and investigation … and I wanted to pass on what little I’ve been able to learn so far.
I’m posting here a copy of the letter that CSE sent to MSHA on July 1 describing the incident. Take a look, and pass on any thoughts you have.
CSE Corp. President Scott Shearer, with one of his company’s widely used SR-100 SCSRs.
As the letter explains, eight miners complained of a burning sensation and blistering in and around their mouths from using these training units during an exercise at the Mountain Edge Mining Dorothy No. 3 Mine Dorothy No. 3 Mine in Boone County.
CSE says in the letter that the company is confident that the problem was with the way its equipment was used, and not with the equipment itself:
The SR-MP Expectation Trainer has provided 40,000 users with a safe, successful and realistic experience of wearing a self-contained self-rescuer to date …Â
I also received this prepared statement from MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere:
Six of the used training canisters were delivered to MSHA’s Technical Support division. On July 1, NIOSH and MSHA’s Jeff Kravitz visited CSE to inspect the canisters and perform visual tests. KO2 residue was detected on the outside and on the mouthpieces of the training units. According to CSE personnel who visited the mine and talked to mine personnel, the new training canisters were put in the same travel bag with used units, allowing the new units to become contaminated with KO2. A new unit of the same manufacture date from CSE’s inventory was tested and no KO2 was detected on the mouthpiece or outside canister. No remaining units were available from the mine.
MSHA has concluded that the miners who experienced problems used training units that were contaminated on the exterior with KO2, probably from a used unit or units. Twenty other miners had successfully used the same type of units earlier that day with no mishaps.Â
But buried in the letter, CSE President Scott Shearer reveals that his company plans to change the chemical that is used to produce oxygen in the training units:
However, due to the potential for product misuse CSE intends on using calcium hydroxide in the SR-MP Expectation Trainer in place of the current chemical — potassium oxide — and will be offering users in the near future the opportunity to exchange their potassium-oxide containing SR-MPs with units containing calcium hydroxide.
In our opinion, the calcium hydroxide will provide the user with simulation training similar to that provided by SR-MPs using the potassium-oxide.
The letter goes on:
CSE believes that re-education and product modifications can minimize the risk to miners of injuries of this type created when the units are not uses in the proper environment and mishandled following training.
Still, mine safety experts have known for many years about miner complaints about the heat generated by SCSRs. But that’s just one of the many problems with the devices, as the great journalist Tom Bethell explained in a Mountain Eagle editorial nearly two years ago (reprinted here from The Pump Handle blog):
Consider the links between the 12 miners lost in the Sago Mine disaster on January 2, 2006, the two miners lost in the fire at Massey Energy’s Aracoma Alma Mine on January 19, 2006, the five miners lost in the Kentucky Darby Mine explosion in Harlan County on May 20, 2006, and the six miners missing at Crandall Canyon since the cave-in on August 6, 2007.
First: in each case, the miners were equipped with outmoded emergency breathing devices – Self-Contained Self-Rescuers (SCSRs) – that are hard to use under ideal conditions, let alone in panic. The SCSRs used today were developed decades ago. Miners must manually activate them (a multi-step, non-intuitive process) and insert a mouthpiece – which then makes voice communication impossible. Most miners aren’t given realistic SCSR training, so the unfamiliar stress of breathing through the device can create the impression that the SCSR isn’t working.
Investigators know that at Sago, Alma, and Darby, miners had trouble with their SCSRs. Some abandoned them or removed their mouthpieces to communicate (or, at Sago, while they pounded on roof bolts, hoping to signal rescuers) – a potentially fatal error, because reactivating an SCSR is almost impossible. So instead of saving lives, SCSRs in many cases appear to have contributed to miners’ confusion and disorientation. If the six miners missing at Crandall Canyon had time to use their SCSRs, odds are that they too had trouble.
Technology advances have long since made today’s SCSRs obsolete. Firefighters have full-face breathing gear that permits voice communication and requires no activation beyond turning a valve. Similar next-generation SCSRs could have been developed – that is, if the coal industry had been willing to spend money on safety improvements and if federal agencies, particularly the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), had cooperatively and aggressively encouraged (and funded) research and development by entrepreneurs with good ideas.
But they didn’t, and still don’t.
Not for nothing, but it’s worth repeating this information about the two training options offered by CSE. According to the company’s Web site:
The new SR-MP [The one involved in this incident] includes a mouthpiece, nose clip, and training cartridge, and it provides breathing resistance and heat for 10 minutes. It offers a similar experience to that of the company’s popular SR-100, the one-hour SCSR worn on the belts of most miners in the industry.  The SR-MP retails for $24.35.
The other option:
The SR-T provides breathing resistance and heat for 15-25 minutes and includes a mouthpiece, nose clip, training cartridge, canister and a carry pouch. The complete SR-T training unit retails for $179.
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