Fires in Abandoned Coal Mines

Abstract

Mine fires occur on abandoned mine lands throughout the U. S. coal fields. They threaten the health and safety of the local populations and consume a non-renewable natural resource. In general, mine fires are the most costly abandoned mine lands problem to mitigate. In active mines, fires are quickly extinguished by the mining company as they present a direct threat to their economic resource. In abandoned mines, however, fires started by natural or other means are often unnoticed for many years, or are ignored or otherwise unattended until they become a threat to nearby residents. These fires then become a government responsibility. Methods of assessing an underground mine fire are often a function of project size and include field reconnaissance, airborne thermal infrared imagery, surface and underground map analysis, drilling, instrumentation and monitoring and underground temperature and mine gas analysis. Effective remedial measures may be a combination of mitigation technologies that depend on whether the goal is to extinguish or limit the spread of an underground mine fire. Such technologies include total excavation or trenching, flooding and quenching, bulk filling mine workings, surface seals, tunnel plugs in mine workings, inert gas injection, chemical foams and burnout control. If fire control or extinguishment methods are not implemented, then the alternative is to abandon the surface and let the fire spread to its natural limits. Case histories of mine fire projects in Pennsylvania9s anthracite and bituminous coal fields demonstrate successful extinguishment by utilizing a combination of mitigation technologies.