Air Monitoring
Air quality concerns for trapped coal miners in NZ
Nov 22 2010
On Friday (November 19th 2010), an explosion hit the country's South Island, resulting in the coal miners being trapped underground.
Since then efforts have been made to ensure the workers can receive oxygen and drilling started on a six-inch ventilation shaft yesterday evening.
It is thought that the explosion was caused by high levels of methane gas, giving rise to the concerns that the men are now inhaling toxic fumes.
Air quality tests are being conducted every half an hour to monitor the conditions for the miners, who are thought to be 162 metres below the surface of the ground.
Despite there being no contact from the men since the explosion, police superintendent Gary Kowles has said that the rescue workers "remain optimistic".
The rescue team is likely to be hoping for the same outcome of the trapped miners in Chile last month, when 33 men were successfully rescued after spending more than two months 624 metres below ground.
Posted by Claire Manning
Digital Edition
IET 34.2 March 2024
April 2024
Gas Detection - Biogas batch fermentation system for laboratory use with automatic gas analysis in real time Water/Wastewater - Upcycling sensors for sustainable nature management - Prist...
View all digital editions
Events
May 05 2024 Seville, Spain
May 06 2024 Minneapolis, MN, USA
May 13 2024 Munich, Germany
May 15 2024 Lund, Sweden
May 15 2024 Frankurt-am-Main, Germany