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MINE RESCUING IN ROMANIA
The accident occurred in 1906 on Pas de Calais coalfield located in the Northern France, where 1125 persons lost their lives, has increased concern on mine rescuing both in the European countries and in Romania; for the start, these operations were mainly developed in coalfields. Accordingly, in 1913 the first Norms for labor protection especially devised for the mining industry were developed and they addressed mainly those companies located in the Jiu Valley (the largest coalfield in Romania) and involved in coal mining. These norms included 8 chapters with 116 articles; one chapter referred to the first aid necessary for the injured people during mine accidents.
All through the years, these Norms have been developed and adapted to the current demands; at present, "The Specific Norms for Labor Protection for the Mining Industry" includes the organization of rescue operations; they are presented in detail in the enclosed Technical Prescriptions that include 111 articles and 6 annexes on the location, equipment, documents and staff employed by rescue stations as well on the operation and training procedures for mine rescuers.
Organisation
According to the above-mentioned norms, the mining units shall have their own rescue units (or this activity shall be supplied by a nearby unit); the personnel of these rescue units shall be made of volunteer rescuers whose number shall be at least 2% of the most numerous shift of workers for underground and they shall be made of workers with different training skills.
Central mine rescue stations shall be founded in mine coalfields; they shall operate on a permanent basis with professional rescue teams.
These rescue stations shall have at their disposition an adequate building, well-trained personnel with suitable certifications and equipment and the necessary training courses shall be carried out with high exigency and professionalism.
Building
In compliance with the stated norms, the rescue stations shall be divided into three categories depending on the number of employed rescuers. Thus, we have:
- Mine rescue stations of third range with 10 - 15 rescuers;
- Mine rescue stations of second range with 15 - 25 rescuers;
- Mine rescue stations of first range with more than 25 rescuers.
Mainly, such a structure shall include different rooms adequate to carry out those activities specific for the range of the rescue stations.
The designs for the erection of the construction or the projects necessary to re-arrange the structures that shelter the rescue stations shall be approved by INSEMEX Petrošani (http: www/insemex-petrosani.go.ro ; mailto:insemex@comtrust.ro) who shall also verify periodically whether the adequate provisions are observed.
The rescue station shall include a training field, arranged at surface or in underground and where the rescue teams perform training exercises that simulate real working situations, real traveling or environment conditions (smoke, high temperature and humidity), similar to those that might occur during a mine accident.
Personnel
The personnel of mine rescue teams can include a large range of qualifications, starting from a simple miner up to the general manager of a mine company, with the observance of some regulations, such as:
- age between 22-45 or 22-50 for the personnel involved in the control or monitoring of the mine rescue operation s;
- at least 3 years seniority in the activity performed during mine rescue operations;
- those involved shall be declared healthy from a physical and psychic point of view;
- no bad habits and/or hereditary problems.
For the medical and psychological selection, there exists a series of minimum demands that has to be observed by all those involved in this activity.
The personnel that is member in the managing board (manager, technical manager, head of the mining unit, chief-engineer) or in the leading board can be part of the staff employed by the mine rescue station only as personnel involved in the control or monitoring of the rescue operations.
INSEMEX Petrosani performs training courses for the certification or periodical certification (every 3 years) of the personnel.
Every month, the rescue team members attend 20 hours of training courses that include theory and practice held in addition to the normal working hours; these courses are organized by every mining unit that has rescue teams.
The classes of theory for the certification and re-certification of rescue team members as well the training classes held at the location of the mining units include notions on the rescue apparatus, mine gases, first aiding, transportation of injured people, mine damage starting with operations of preventions up to the operations necessary to remove all the negative effects of a mine damage, with a presentation of the risk factors and especially the suitable methods for avoiding the occurrence of unwanted accidents with tragic results.
First aiding and transportation of injured people form a separate chapter where theory mingles with the practical implementation of certain rescue practice.
Rescue teams perform their training courses on training fields arranged at surface or in underground. Difficult training courses shall strengthen a rescue team, making them aware of their limits at great effort; thus, they can control better the effort and learn how to save their strength.
Equipment of rescue stations
The minimum needs for a rescue station in apparatus, materials, tools and equipment is stipulated in the Technical Prescriptions enclosed to the Norms, but depending on the nature and on the frequency of a certain type of damage occurred at that mining unit, this equipment is adjusted according to the necessities.
The minimum demand in personal protection equipment, breathing apparatus, auxiliary apparatus and first aiding apparatus is valid for all the mine rescue stations and shall be observed in totality.
Documentation
The above mentioned norms state that the rescue stations shall prepare and preserve all the recordings with respect to the personnel employed at the rescue station, verifications performed on the rescue apparatus, the general equipment currently existing at the station as well with respect to the orders received or to the controls carried out.
Each member in a rescue team has a record file at the station that includes all the information on the training classes, the medical and psychological approvals, how many hours he worked in each trimester; this is a way to survey with accuracy the evolution of a rescue team member ever since the start in the mine rescue activity.
Periodically, all the mine rescue stations send a rapport to INSEMEX Petrosani and in this manner, there exists updated documentation of the whole situation currently existing in the territory.
At present, in Romania, the mining activity develops within 5 companies and 2 national society that have under their subordination several mine branches and mining units with rescue stations. Accordingly, there exists 11 first range rescue stations, 7 second range rescue stations and 26 third range rescue stations, with 800 rescuers, 35 personnel involved in control operations and 55 mechanics for the maintenance of the rescue apparatus.
A second range rescue station operates in the Jiu Valley coalfield, where professional rescuers work and it is the only one in Romania that supplies continuous service in this field of activity. All the other mine rescue stations employ volunteer personnel that performs this rescue operations additionally; basically they bear different other titles in the mining units where they work.
At the beginning of 2003, the Romanian Association of Rescue Teams (ASMS) (e-mail: asmsr03@yahoo.com) was founded with the main purpose to represent the interests of all those who work in this field of activity.
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