| Type: | DVD Video | |
| Audience: | Miners in annual refresher classes, trainers, responsible persons, command center personnel, researchers | |
| Length | Duration: | 25 minutes | 1.5 - 2 hours | |
| Skills Reviewed: | The trainee will be able to better respond should an explosion occur. | |
On November 20, 1968 a massive explosion rocked the underground workings of Mountaineer Coal Company's Farmington No. 9 Mine in West Virginia. Of the 99 miners who were working in the mine at the time of the explosion, only 21 survived. This group included eight miners who were rescued from the Mahan's Run air shaft. Nearly 40 years after the event, NIOSH researchers conducted oral history interviews with two of the eight survivors rescued from the shaft.
Using excerpts from these interviews, NIOSH has developed a training module to educate both inexperienced and veteran miners on important issues related to self-rescue and escape procedures. The 25-minute video and instructor's guide are designed primarily for use in safety training settings. The target audience is all underground mine workers, regardless of commodity. This training module should help safety instructors better prepare miners for the situations they could encounter should they have to escape an underground mine following an explosion or fire.
To order the DVD, contact NIOSH Mining at PitHealth@cdc.gov and request publication #2009-142D.