Coal Mining Documentary - The Most Dangerous Job On Earth - Classic History
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the evolution of coal mining, from ancient manual methods to modern highly efficient and mechanized techniques. It covers underground mining advancements like continuous miners and long wall systems, as well as surface mining innovations. The script also addresses environmental concerns, coal's role in energy production, and the industry's efforts towards cleaner coal technologies.
Takeaways
- 🌏 Miners at Camp Creek Mine in West Virginia travel seven miles through a mountain to reach their worksite, using a rail cart to navigate a cavernous tunnel.
- 🏭 The continuous miner is a highly efficient machine for underground coal mining, accounting for almost half of the coal retrieved today, with a large rotating drum cutting head that eliminates the need for blasting or drilling.
- 🚜 The long wall mining method is even more productive than continuous mining, with machines cutting across long coal seams and recovering up to 40,000 tons of coal per day.
- 🛠️ Modern mining technology includes remote-controlled machines and safety measures such as rock dust application and ventilating fans to prevent explosions and control dust and methane gas.
- 🔥 Coal is a crucial resource for energy production, with about 55% of the electricity in the U.S. being generated from coal, and it is also used in industries like concrete, paper, glass, and steel.
- 🕰️ Coal mining has a history dating back 3,000 years, with early methods including bell pits and drift mines, evolving to more sophisticated techniques with the introduction of machinery and electricity.
- 🛑 The U.S. Bureau of Mines was established in 1910 to improve mining safety following numerous mining disasters, leading to advancements in safety equipment and practices.
- 🏗️ Surface mining, or strip mining, became more prevalent in the 20th century with the development of large machinery capable of removing overburden and increasing coal recovery rates.
- 🌱 Surface mines are required to follow reclamation procedures to restore the land after mining, as mandated by the 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act.
- 🌡️ Coal-fired power plants contribute to air pollution and global warming, but the industry is investing in clean coal technologies to reduce emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, and mercury.
- 🔬 Future advancements in coal mining and usage will likely focus on minimizing ecological damage and further improving the efficiency and cleanliness of coal as an energy source.
Q & A
What is the primary mode of transportation for miners to reach the Camp Creek Mine?
-Miners at Camp Creek Mine in East Lin West, Virginia must travel seven miles through the insides of a mountain, using a rickety rail cart to reach their worksite.
What is the significance of the continuous miner in underground coal mining?
-The continuous miner is a highly efficient machine that cuts up the seam of coal from the mining face, eliminating the need for blasting or drilling, and accounts for almost half of the coal retrieved by underground mining today.
How does a continuous miner differ from traditional mining methods?
-A continuous miner uses a large rotating drum with bits to break the coal from the seam, unlike traditional methods that required blasting or drilling, and can mine in one minute what took a miner in the 1920s an entire day to produce.
What is the role of the shuttle car in the mining process?
-The shuttle car is used to transport the coal from the continuous miner to a longer conveyor that carries the coal to the surface.
What is the long wall mining method and how is it different from continuous mining?
-Long wall mining is another approach used in underground mines, which is perhaps the most productive current method. Unlike continuous miners, long wall machines cut across a very long seam of coal, breaking it apart with a rotating drum that sweeps back and forth, with the coal falling directly onto a built-in conveyor.
What is the role of rock dust in underground coal mines?
-Rock dust, which is ground up lime, is sprayed on the mine roof, floor, and ribs to help prevent mine explosions by diluting hazardous concentrations of coal dust.
How does the coal industry contribute to electricity production in the United States?
-About 55 to 56 percent of the electricity used in the United States is made by burning coal, with electric utility companies using more than 80 percent of all coal mined in the US.
What are the origins of coal mining, and how was coal formed?
-Coal mining efforts reach as far back as 3,000 years for a resource that was formed millions of years ago from vegetation that grew in swamps, capturing the sun's energy and decomposing into peat, which was then transformed into coal under geological pressure and heat.
What was the impact of the steam engine on coal mining in the 18th century?
-The steam engine, perfected by James Watt in 1774, resolved the problem of efficiently pumping water out of deeper mines, allowing for more extensive mining operations.
What are the modern safety measures implemented in underground coal mines?
-Modern safety measures include the use of flame safety lamps, separate ventilation shafts with powerful fans, constant monitoring and control of coal dust levels, and the use of equipment such as steel-toed boots, portable methane monitors, and self-rescuers for miners.
What is the significance of the 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act?
-The 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act required mining companies to reclaim the land to its original condition after mining, enforcing environmental regulations and preventing environmental disasters.
Outlines
🏭 Underground Mining Techniques and Technology
This paragraph discusses the process and technology used in underground coal mining. Miners at the Camp Creek Mine in West Virginia travel seven miles through a mountain to reach their worksite, using a rail cart. The continuous mining method, which accounts for nearly half of underground coal mining, is highlighted. This method uses a machine called a continuous miner, which cuts coal from the seam without the need for blasting or drilling. The continuous miner has a rotating drum with cutting bits and is capable of mining what would take a miner in the 1920s an entire day in just one minute. The coal is then transported via a conveyor system to the surface. The paragraph also mentions the long wall mining method, which is even more productive and can recover up to 40,000 tons of coal per day. The long wall machine cuts across a long seam of coal, with a rotating drum that breaks the coal, which then falls onto a built-in conveyor. These machines have revolutionized underground coal mining.
🌍 Coal's Role in Global Energy and Industry
This paragraph explores the importance of coal in the global energy mix and various industries. Coal is the most widely used fuel for producing steam to drive power plant generators, with about 55-56% of electricity in the country being generated from coal. The utility companies use over 80% of all coal mined in the US. Additionally, coal is used in the production of concrete, paper, glass, and as a fuel in the steel industry. The paragraph also delves into the history of coal mining, tracing its origins back 3,000 years to early civilizations that used coal for funeral piles and heating. The formation of coal from vegetation that grew millions of years ago is explained, as well as the evolution of mining techniques from early surface mining to more sophisticated methods.
🔨 Historical Evolution of Coal Mining Methods
This paragraph details the historical evolution of coal mining methods. It starts with the bell pit method, which involved digging vertical shafts and creating bell-shaped chambers for coal extraction. Miners used primitive tools like stone hammers, picks, and shovels. The drift mining method is also discussed, which involved tunneling into hillsides to follow coal seams. The paragraph highlights the dangers of mining, such as roof falls and the use of timbers to support the mine roof. The 17th century saw advancements in mining techniques in England, including the use of animals to pull coal carts and the introduction of mine railway systems. The steam engine, perfected by James Watt in 1774, solved the problem of efficiently pumping water out of deeper mines. The paragraph also touches on the early mining operations in America, which initially relied on coal imported from England.
🚧 The Challenges and Innovations in Coal Mining Safety
This paragraph focuses on the challenges and innovations in coal mining safety. It describes the dangers faced by miners, such as methane explosions, roof falls, and carbon monoxide poisoning. The use of canaries to detect oxygen deficiency is mentioned, as well as the introduction of flame safety lamps and separate ventilation shafts with powerful fans. The formation of the United States Bureau of Mines in 1910 is highlighted, which aimed to improve mining safety through research and technology. The paragraph also discusses the impact of the 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act, which required mining companies to reclaim land after mining. Advances in mining equipment, such as electric hammers, saws, and coal cutting machines, are noted, along with the contributions of Joseph Francis Joy, who invented the mechanical loading system and the continuous miner.
🛠️ Modernization of Coal Mining Equipment and Practices
This paragraph discusses the modernization of coal mining equipment and practices. It highlights the development of electric-powered loaders, shuttle cars, and roof bolting systems to prevent cave-ins. The evolution of miner's attire, including hardhats with headlamps, safety glasses, steel-toed boots, and self-rescuers, is also covered. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of safety and efficiency in modern mining, with large automated machines and computerized controls reducing the risks for miners. Despite the inherent dangers of underground mining, technological advances have significantly improved working conditions and productivity.
🏔️ Surface Mining: Techniques, Safety, and Controversies
This paragraph explores surface mining, which accounts for 65% of coal produced in the United States. It describes the highly mechanized operations of surface mines, such as the use of draglines with enormous buckets to remove overburden and expose coal seams. The paragraph also discusses the safety aspects of surface mining, noting that it is generally safer than underground mining due to the work taking place above ground. However, it also touches on the environmental controversies surrounding surface mining, particularly mountaintop removal, which involves blasting the tops off mountains and filling valleys with rock and dirt. The 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act is mentioned, which requires mining companies to reclaim the land after mining.
🚛 Coal Transportation and Processing
This paragraph details the transportation and processing of coal. It explains that 60% of coal is transported by railroads, often in unit trains that can carry up to 14,000 tons of coal. The coal is loaded into trains at a rate of about 7,000 tons per hour. Other transportation methods include barges, trucks, and direct conveyor systems from mines to power plants. The processing of coal involves removing impurities, crushing and sizing the coal, and drying it through various methods. The processed coal is then ready to be delivered to utility companies.
🌳 Environmental Impact and Clean Coal Technologies
This paragraph addresses the environmental impact of coal mining and the development of clean coal technologies. It discusses the pollutants naturally found in coal, such as sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, and mercury, and the efforts to reduce their emissions. The use of flue gas desulphurization units (scrubbers) and precipitators to reduce sulfur oxides and fly ash emissions is highlighted. The paragraph also touches on pre-combustion methods like coal washing and the use of low-sulfur coal. The issue of global warming and carbon dioxide emissions is discussed, with clean coal technology aiming to address this by burning coal more efficiently and researching carbon dioxide sequestration. The potential of coal gasification and integrated gasification combined cycle technology is noted as a promising solution for making coal a truly clean energy source.
🔍 Future Prospects and Technological Advancements in Coal Mining
This paragraph looks to the future of coal mining, emphasizing the vast reserves of coal that can last for at least 250 years. It underscores the responsibility that comes with consuming such a vital resource and the need for further technological breakthroughs to minimize ecological damage. The industry, driven by government, science, and environmental watchdogs, is expected to continue developing cleaner and more efficient methods of coal extraction and use. The potential of integrated gasification combined cycle technology, coupled with carbon dioxide separation and disposal, is seen as a key step towards making coal a truly clean energy source.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Continuous Miner
💡Longwall Mining
💡Remote Control
💡Coal Seam
💡Ventilation
💡Rock Dust
💡Surface Mining
💡Dragline
💡Overburden
💡Clean Coal Technology
💡Gasification
Highlights
Miners at Camp Creek Mine in West Virginia travel seven miles through a mountain to reach their worksite.
Continuous mining is one of the most efficient underground mining methods, accounting for nearly half of coal retrieved by underground mining today.
The continuous miner eliminates the need for blasting or drilling by using a large rotating drum with a shaped cutting head.
Continuous miners are remote-controlled, allowing for safer and more efficient mining operations.
Long wall mining is the most productive current underground mining method, capable of recovering up to 40,000 tons of coal per day.
Long wall machines have a series of cutting heads that break coal, which falls directly onto a built-in conveyor.
Rock dust is applied to mine walls to prevent mine explosions by diluting hazardous concentrations of coal dust.
Ventilating fans are used in mines to remove gases and reduce dust, improving safety conditions.
Coal is the fuel most widely used to produce electricity, with 55-56% of electricity in the U.S. made from burning coal.
Coal mining has a history dating back 3,000 years, with early records of use in funeral piles and whales.
The Bell pit method of coal mining evolved in the 14th century, allowing for safer and more efficient extraction.
The introduction of the steam engine in the 18th century resolved the problem of efficiently pumping water out of deeper mines.
Joseph Francis Joy revolutionized underground coal mining with inventions like the mechanical loading system and the continuous miner.
Modern coal mining equipment has led to greater efficiency and safety, with miners using hardhats with battery-operated headlamps and other protective gear.
Surface mining methods, such as those used in the North Antelope Rochelle coal mine in Wyoming, are highly mechanized and account for 65% of U.S. coal production.
The 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act required mining companies to reclaim land after mining, addressing environmental concerns.
Clean coal technologies aim to reduce pollutants from coal combustion, including sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, and mercury.
Gasification and integrated gasification combined cycle technology are seen as promising methods for making coal truly clean by reducing CO2 emissions.
Transcripts
[Music]
to reach their worksite miners at the
camp Creek Mine in East Lin West
Virginia must travel seven miles through
the insides of a mountain
the workers ride a rickety rail cart
through a long cavernous tunnel that is
there I weigh
after their one-hour commute they
finally reached the working face of the
mine
here a monstrous machine with footlong
teeth chews away at the earth this is
one of the most efficient underground
mining methods ever developed continuous
mining this technique accounts for
almost half of the coal retrieved by
underground mining today
[Applause]
the machine called a continuous miner
cuts up the seam of coal from the mining
face eliminating the need for blasting
or drilling it has a large rotating drum
shaped cutting head that spins and
breaks the coal from the seam we're at
the front end of the continuous miner
this is the end of the miner which
actually breaks or extracts of coal from
the face as you can see there's a eleven
and a half foot drum on the front of
this monitor it rotates
it has bits laced on the drum in a
scroll fashion this continuous miner can
mine in one minute what took a miner in
the 1920s an entire day to produce these
powerful machines are remote-controlled
beats mine this remote you can work
anything on this miner that you could
with sitting in the day turn the head on
you grace it up and you turn it to fire
on anything that you could make control
on that mind we can probe through this
box
[Music]
the machine has moving arms that scoop
the coal directly onto a conveyor that
leads to a shuttle car a miner then
drives the shuttle car to a longer
conveyor that carries the coal to the
surface a continuous miner is going to
have different productivity rates but
typically six thousand tons a day would
be a reasonable expectation 200 miles
away in the Bailey mine in Wayne County
Pennsylvania an even more impressive
machine is hard at work the long wall
long wall mining is another approach
used in underground mines perhaps the
most productive current underground
mining method
unlike the continuous miner the enormous
long wall cuts across one very long seam
of coal that is broken apart by a
rotating drum that sweeps back and forth
the coal falls directly onto a built-in
conveyor this technique can recover up
to 40,000 tons of coal per day long wall
machines have revolutionized underground
coal mining the wall wall machine has a
series of cutting heads or shears that
chew away at the coal they got cutting
bits on it and they break the coal that
falls onto a belt line that entire coal
seam is removed and these panels are
about a thousand feet wide on the
average and they will sometimes run as
much as a mile
I call it Star Wars technology early
versions of the long laws were developed
in the late 1950s today of the machine
is completely automated it has a
hydraulically operated steel canopy
that keeps the roof of the mine secure
and moves along with a machine as the
coal seam is cutting the roof and the
mined out areas collapses in a
controlled manner if you can imagine the
early days where you were extracting the
coal using a pick using a shovel to load
it into a wagon that was pulled outside
by a pony is significantly different
than using a remote control with the
joystick to operate a 600 horsepower
continuous miner
today's underground mines look much
different than they did years ago the
Camp Creek shaft mine in West Virginia
is no exception
the walls of the tunnels of this deep
coal mine are surprisingly white instead
of black this is due to the application
of rock dust which is ground up lime
that is sprayed to the mine roof floor
and ribs to help prevent mine explosions
limestone dilutes any hazardous
concentrations of coal dust which can
cause explosions large ventilating fans
also remove any lingering coal dust as
well as methane gas from the surface
huge ventilating fans are used to cause
a pressure differential to pull
atmospheric air from the outside end of
the coal mines ventilation does
primarily two things removes gases from
the mining areas and helps to control
and reduce dust as you can see here
ventilating curtain is used to direct
air in the working phases to where the
employees are performing their duties
coal deposits exist on every continent
including Antarctica it is the fuel most
widely used to produce steam to drive
the turbines of power plant generators
when coal is burned the carbon and
hydrogen naturally found in the fuel
combine with oxygen to produce carbon
dioxide and water vapor
this reaction gives off heat energy
[Music]
about 55 to 56 percent of the
electricity that people use in this
country is made the burning coal the
electric utility companies use more than
80 percent of all coal mined in the US
[Music]
the concrete paper and glass industries
also consume large quantities of coal as
a fuel for heating and powering their
facilities the steel industry is reliant
on coal to produce coke a hard carbon
material used in the manufacture of iron
and steel
the carbon in coal gives steel its
strength and versatility steel is the
sinew of modernity for railroad tracks
locomotives automobiles steam ships the
girders and skyscrapers steel and the
coal that was used to heat the iron to
make it are the essential ingredients an
abundant source of economical power to
create the modern world as we know it
these impressive technological advances
are the culmination of a coal mining
effort that reaches as far back as 3,000
years for a resource that was formed
millions of years ago affectionately
referred to as buried sunshine coal is a
fossil fuel formed from vegetation that
grew in swamps as long as 400 million
years ago this vegetation absorbed and
captured the sun's energy and sank to
the bottom of Marsh areas to decompose
into a soggy dense material called peat
as the surface of the earth changed
geological forces buried the peat under
heavy layers of rock the continuing
pressure and heat transform the
compressed peat into coal when the coal
is uncovered it is located in strata or
seems like the filling in a
multi-layered kick
early civilizations found ways to mine
this buried fuel long before it became
an ample source of electric power the
first records we have of coal being used
and therefore presumably mined date back
about three thousand years ago coal was
used for funeral piles and whales the
Chinese probably used it around the same
period and Aristotle records the rock
that burned so we think that somewhere
between probably 3,000 to 2,000 years
ago coal mining started we have no
record of how it was mined at that point
but we assume that they simply mined the
outcrops of coal word appeared on the
side of a hill or a cliff before 400 AD
coal was burned and used as a source of
heat during the Roman occupation of
Britain and it was being used in America
as early as a thousand AD by the Hopi
Indians in what is now Arizona
they also used coal for heating purposes
and to make their pottery scholars
believe that laborers and peasants both
in England and America dug small surface
pits for domestic fuel but for the most
part wood was still the main source of
fuel
the first recorded mining of coal that
we have written record of refers to see
coals siècles occurred along the beaches
of the scotland and northern
northeastern England and it was simply
picked up where coal seams basically
occurred on the cliffs as the coast
eroded away the coal would have appeared
on the beaches like any other Rock it's
apparent of by the 13th century that see
coals where the first coals actually
taken down to the big cities London
being the major one as a source of fuel
london was starting to run out of
firewood so this sea coal became a
popular replacement the increased need
for coal in other parts of Europe during
the same period was a direct result of
the diminishing supply of forests and
wood as fuel
[Music]
great emphasis was placed on the
development of the coalfields due to the
economics of the time
Cole simply became a cheaper fuel source
than wood at that point miners would now
have to dig to provide an adequate
supply of coal to keep up with a new
demand next with new methods of
retrieval coal becomes the main source
of fuel in the world but not without a
price as the forests of Europe began to
dwindle Cola merged is the only other
source of fuel early miners needed to
find new ways of extracting it the Bell
pit method of coal mining evolved as
early as the 14th century when
monasteries and castles used coal for
domestic purposes the name comes from
the final shape of the excavation miners
dug vertical shafts straight down
through the coal seam where they created
a bell-shaped chamber that allowed them
to extract as much coal as possible
without the roof caving in
these narrow shafts were no more than 30
feet deep and presented few dangers
explosives were not in use yet so the
miners broke through rock and coal with
nothing more than primitive tools such
as stone hammers picks and shovels coal
mining originally was done by hand pick
and shovel the coal was was hacked out
of the coal seam put in baskets where
small children or women could haul it to
the surface in a deep mine a shaft with
a winch crank at the top could lift
buckets of coal out letters were used
for access and candles were the only
source of light the coal was sorted into
different sizes usually by the women and
children
this mining method continued to be used
for centuries drift mines evolved is
another method of coal mining starting
in the 15th century
Jeff mining would have occurred where a
coal seam disappeared into a cliff or
steep side of a hill we're putting in
bell pits would have required the
development of enormous chefs and so the
only way to mine the coal beyond the
outcrop was simply to drive a tunnel in
and follow the coal seam and this would
have been the start of drift mining
drift being the mining word for tunnel
the miners who drift mind again rapidly
learned the basic rules of room and
pillar mining that is you can't make an
opening too wide or the roof will
collapse on you and you have to leave
pillars of coal behind you to support
the roof the most common form of injury
and death was a roof fall in a coal mine
the deeper that a mine went underground
the more difficult it was to keep the
top up to keep the mines safe so that
miners could get in and coal could come
out um the simplest way to do that was
to cut mine timbers properly set in
place with shims at the top and bottom
to ensure a tight fit that was the most
common form of keeping the top off of
the coal miner in the coal mine these
coal mining methods remained relatively
unchanged for several hundred years
it wasn't until the 17th century that
England began to advance mining
techniques up until then
miners hauled coal and wicker baskets on
their backs
then in wheelbarrows or on sleds by the
mid 17th century animals began to be
used to pull coal carts in the English
mines England also introduced mine
railway systems as well as a reliable
system to drain water and prevent
flooding in the deeper minds as they
mined out the near surface coal seams
and they went deeper they started to
encounter large quantities of water and
the systems that they had of pumping
water was so primitive what they really
needed to solve the water problem was a
source of power a pumping system up
until the 18th century water wheels were
the only real source of power
in 1774 James Watt perfected the steam
engine which finally resolved the
problem of efficiently pumping water out
of the deeper mines although the
American Indians had used coal found in
small surface bits as early as a
thousand AD it wasn't until the
Revolutionary War that more
sophisticated coal mining operations
appeared coal mined from small drift
mines in Richmond Virginia was used in
the manufacture of weapons for the
American troops before the war most of
the coal came from England
but even after the American Revolution
Britain continued to provide America
with coal through the early 1800s
Cole was basically imported to the
United States until the war of 1812 in
fact Britain really discouraged the
mining of coal in the United States they
didn't want anybody competing basically
with Britain economically and so what we
have is we have this curious condition
of coal being literally shipped across
the Atlantic when there were enormous
quantities known to exist here in the
United States but after the war of 1812
took very little time before people
started to mine coal here in the US even
though there was enormous quantities of
wood the first record of continuous coal
mining in the u.s. goes back to 1840 in
the Richmond Virginia coal basin
the Americans used the British
innovation of huge steam pumps to drain
water from the deeper mines
however the other problem was the need
to safely ventilate the mines and push
methane out pockets of methane gas
formed millions of years ago are trapped
in coal seams and are extremely
flammable when mixed with air and often
lead to deadly explosions until the
introduction of steam and later electric
fans miners mentholated underground
mines by creating furnaces at the bottom
of the shaft the first working fan in an
underground coal mine probably occurred
in Belgium in developed 1835 they were
powered by steam engines not very
effective but better than the
alternative which was typically the use
of fires to ventilate coal mines the
idea is simply that the fire heats the
air and just as a chimney in a house and
draws the air through the mine
if it's a gas II call mine when the
methane gas hits that fire as it will do
in pockets on occasions you can't have
an incredibly disastrous explosion
another problem a miner's encountered
underground was oxygen deficiency also
known as black damp enter the legendary
canary
the cage was actually used to carry
canary in a coal mine and the canary was
there for what it called black damp the
Pharaon a long time ago that the canary
would die and hello occu before a person
would miners would trim the Canaries
claws because they discovered that the
bird could die from the lack of oxygen
but still grip its perch and appear to
be alive due to the effects of rigor
mortis by the late 1800s coal mining in
America was one of the fastest growing
industries doubling every eight years
most of the mine operators owned
everything else in the small isolated
mining towns including the miners home
leaving the workers powerless and
vulnerable to unsafe conditions
Ruth falls in coal mines underground
explosions fires coal mining was the
most hazardous occupation in
industrialized societies the industry
was slow to adopt a safety underground
bleeding that it would limit production
and limit employment
[Music]
large mining disasters followed the
rapid increase in production the
European mines had already started to
experience methane explosions with
increasing frequency and with more
tragic results as the number of miners
underground grew and as the mines got
deeper the methane content increased
disaster struck American mines beginning
in the 19th century but the worst mine
explosion in the United States occurred
at Matunga West Virginia in 1907 as many
as four hundred and twenty-five miners
died when dynamite was improperly
handled and a blast ignited the methane
and coal dust the enormous number of
fatalities that were occurring him in
Mullins due to explosions and roof falls
and carbon monoxide various other
accidents we had as a result of that in
1910 the US government formed the United
States Bureau of Mines this job was
simply to do research and come up with
improved technologies to greatly enhance
the health and safety of mining at that
particular time flame safety lamps
replaced the archaic canary in a cage
the flame emits an orange glow with
methane is present in the mind and if
oxygen levels are low the flame goes out
separate ventilation shafts with
powerful fans circulating air replace
the dangerous ventilating furnaces coal
dust was linked to black lung disease
also known as coal miners pneumoconiosis
a progressive pulmonary disorder that
builds up over years of inhaling high
levels of airborne dust particles levels
of coal mine dust began to be constantly
monitored and controlled by wetting coal
or by spraying limestone on the walls
these improvements had a great impact on
reducing injuries and fatalities
underground coal mining is not even
among the ten most dangerous occupations
mining is not coal mining today is very
very tightly regulated but it took the
cooperation of the industry labor and
federal and state regulatory agencies to
achieve that record next incredible
advances in coal mining equipment lead
to greater efficiency with the advent of
electricity in the latter part of the
19th century the mechanization of coal
mining began on a large scale
first electric hammers and saws then
coal cutting machines began to appear in
the underground mines but one man in
particular would rise above the others
by developing a series of new inventions
that helped revolutionize underground
coal mining at the age of 12 Joseph
Francis joy followed in his father's
footsteps and went to work in a coal
mine in 1895 frustrated with how hard
and dangerous the work was he became
determined to find a better way by the
time he was 36 years old and after many
attempts he invented the first
successful mechanical Colo ting device
in 1919 we have the first of the
mechanical loading systems that was
really very effective so effective but
it's still widely used today which is
the joy gathering arm loader and this
again was to really revolutionize mining
at that point in history these loaders
would typically load into coal cars the
joy loader was electrically powered and
incredibly effective it wasn't until the
1930s that a gained joy came along and
built the first of the shuttle cars
the joy would go on to accumulate 190
patents in his lifetime many of which
drastically improved underground mining
mechanization one of the most important
was an early version of the continuous
miner in 1947 what we have is again joy
comes up with a machine the first of the
continuous miners the Ripper machine the
Ripper machine basically tore up the
coal no longer did you have to undercut
it how long it did you have to drill it
no longer did you have to shoot it what
you now had is one machine that
literally tore the coal down onto a
gathering arm loader and the loader
simply then loaded the coal out directly
over the back of the machine
and into the shuttle gaara's over the
years joy and other engineering pioneers
reconfigured crude and ineffective
machines that would lead to today's
highly efficient and productive
underground mines after the introduction
of the shuttle car roof bolting systems
were developed in the 1940s roof bolts
help to prevent cave-ins in the
underground mines miners secure the roof
over the mined out area by using a roof
bolting machine
[Music]
these bolts are long rods driven into
the roof to bind several layers of weak
strata into another layer that is strong
enough to support its own weight if I
took that coal miner that been asleep
for 40 years into a mind today I think
he would be wide-eyed and absolutely
amazed at the mechanization that has
occurred in the mining environment as
the machinery evolved so did the miner
today's miner must have the proper
attire before going underground this
includes a hardhat with battery operated
headlamp which replaced the open flame
carbide lamp worn by the early miners
a nickels worth of carbide in 1900
lasting about a week he's gonna put
enough in there for about two hours and
so he has to have moisture if he didn't
have any water with him what do you do
is spit in it and you see the settling
gas is what that's making now this thing
is similar to a cigarette lighter but
the only way you could make it burn is
put your hand there and let the gas
build up after you left the gas buildup
in you hit it with your hands make the
flame what he used back then was a cloth
hat and so this was coming hard on his
head especially if he didn't like what
was above him safety glasses are an
integral part of our safety protection
equipment obviously to protect the eyes
from dust or while using hand tools and
that sort of thing we're flying debris
could present an eye hazard our
protection was not a consideration in
the early days other items not available
to the early miner include steel toed
boots a portable methane monitor and an
apparatus called a self rescuer a self
rescuers a device by which a human can
breathe and very low oxygen content
atmospheres and it will provide you the
ability to breathe for a period of
approximately one hour while there have
been many changes in the way coal is
mined one thing has remained constant
the types of underground mines drift
mines have a tunnel driven horizontally
into the side of a hill to reach the
call
slope mines are constructed when the bed
of coal is relatively close to the
surface what is too deep to be recovered
by surface mining shaft mines are the
most common and generally the deepest
some is deepest 3,000 feet
elevators carry workers and equipment in
and out of this type of mind a flat
vehicle called a man trip takes miners
where they need to go once inside these
mines and mine cars transport the mining
machines and sections that are then
assembled underground large automated
machines and computerized controls have
not only led to greater productivity but
they have also led to better health and
safety for the miners physically
removing them from potentially hazardous
situations
[Music]
although mining disasters have decreased
dramatically in the last century working
in an underground environment will
always have inherent dangers in the
summer of 2002 the entire country
watched as nine miners in Somerset
Pennsylvania were rescued after being
trapped in a flooded shaft mine for
three days the miners tapped into an old
abandoned mine that contained more than
50 million gallons of water that broke
through but these miners were the
fortunate ones a year earlier in Alabama
thirteen miners died when part of the
mine roof collapsed and caused a methane
gas explosion and there have been more
tragic recent disasters in underground
mines throughout the world next while
underground mining is still a vital
aspect of coal mining in the 1970s
technological advances would lead to new
surface mining methods that would
forever changed the way coal is mined
nestled among the desolate plains and
towering mountain ranges of Wyoming is
the North antelope Rochelle coal mine in
the Powder River Basin the largest coal
mine in the world
this surface mine produces more than 75
million tons of coal a year surface
mines are extensively engineered and
highly mechanized operations accounting
for 65% of coal produced in the United
States most of the coal found in these
mines is recovered making surface mines
twice as productive as underground mines
what we have now is the development of a
mining system basically which is
incredibly cheap and incredibly
productive the idea that you simply peel
away the surface of the earth to expose
the coal seam surface mines didn't
appear until the late 1800s in Danville
Illinois the great technological
development and surface mining goes back
to 1911 with the introduction of the
Marion shovel the first real stripping
shovel before World War two surface
mining wasn't the predominant method of
mining because equipment wasn't big
enough to move the massive amounts of
overburden that to have to be moved in a
surface mined to get to the coal scene
after the war manufacturing processes
led to the development of larger and
more productive surface mining equipment
and by the 70s the size of the machines
increased dramatically
surface mines also tend to be very safe
because most of the work takes place
above-ground in large open areas
eliminating methane explosions and
cave-ins
the coal is uncovered by giant
earthmoving machines that strip off the
overburden the earth and rock covering
the coal
the dragline has an enormous bucket
suspended from the end of a boom which
extends more than 275 feet drag lines
are considered the world's largest
land-based machines some of which have
250 ton buckets that are large enough to
park 2 Greyhound buses side by side
this dragline removes approximately
75,000 tons of overburden
it will take about a month for that
machine to my
is currently to the far wall on the
north end of yet
in most surface mines today the
overburden can also be blasted and
broken apart by explosives placed in
bore holes
we use about 45,000 tons of explosives a
year to blast about 240 million cubic
yards when the overburden is shot we
bring in either our major drag line
stripping equipment or truck shovels the
size of the equipment has increased
where we had a 100 ton truck we have
trucks now up to 400 tons to haul coal
after the overburden is blasted and
removed the exposed coal is then loaded
into trucks by electric power shovels
that are 20 stories high huge trucks
haul tons of coal and covered conveyor
systems deliver the newly acquired coal
to nearby preparation plants
the cut in the mine is then refilled
with a reserved overburden
the site is graded covered with topsoil
and reseeded so that new vegetation can
grow mining companies weren't initially
required by law to reclaim the land
until the 1977 surface mine coal
reclamation act what they did is they
blast the rock above the scene push it
over the side of the mountain expose the
coal seam remove the coal and then just
leave the hole up behind them as an
environmental disaster with the passage
of the 1977 surface mined coal
reclamation act this was no longer
allowed and through a system of making
the mining companies put up huge funds
basically they forced the mining
companies to reclaim the land to
original condition surface mining also
called strip mining has remained
environmentally controversial despite
the reclamation act strip mining
particularly the way that it's being
practiced in parts of West Virginia and
Kentucky today with mountaintop removal
is literally blasting the tops off of
mountains and dumping tons of rock and
dirt into streams and valleys where
miles and miles of streams are being
obliterated the government is not doing
an adequate job of enforcing the
environmental laws that are designed to
protect the mountains and the valleys
this Macra Act is not being adequately
enforced
the mining companies claim that removing
mountaintops and filling in valleys is
the only economical way to get to the
cleaner burning coal while the
government is eager to help the
company's environmentalists and
residents living near the strip mines
continue to fight them
in the meantime new coal mines are still
being developed years of planning are
required before any extraction can take
place once you acquire a lease then it
might take up to 8 to 10 years
just through the permitting process with
the various state and federal agencies
for both surface and underground mines
aerial and satellite photography as well
as radar and global positioning systems
are used in locating the coal deposits
by using computers we enter the
information that we have from the aerial
photography and then the computer will
calculate the volume of material that is
within a given block that's proposed for
mining and that will tell us exactly how
many yards of overburden we have to
remove to get to the coal seam once the
coal is extracted it needs to go through
the preparation process rocks and other
impurities need to be filtered out
through various cleaning procedures the
coal also needs to be crushed sized and
blended large pieces of coal are broken
up into smaller pieces in machines
called breakers and crushers and the
coal is crushed to a size that most
utilities utilize and that's about two
and a half inches or smaller this size
burns most efficiently and most power
plants the processing of coal involves
an intricate network of electric motors
high-capacity belts and sophisticated
sensors which are all linked to
computers after it has been washed the
coal is then dried in one of two ways
either a machine spins the coal drive or
huge vacuum disc builders pull the water
out
the coal is now ready to be delivered to
the utility companies
60% of all coal produced from mines is
transported to its destination by
railroads a large portion is transported
in unit trains 100 or more cars that can
be loaded and unloaded automatically the
coal is conveyed to the load-out silos
and it's flood loaded into trains at the
rate of about 7,000 tons per hour so a
unit train that carries about 14,000
tons can be loaded in about two hours
[Music]
14,000 tons of coal is enough to power a
city of 1.3 million for one day
another method of transporting coal is
by barges smaller amounts of coal are
moved by truck or by conveyor directly
from a mine to a power plant I've seen
so many changes just in the last 10
years I never thought we'd be using
explosives to actually move the
overburden I never thought we'd see 400
ton trucks I have no idea what the new
technologies will be but I'm sure we'll
be awed probably by the the new
technologies that will come out and just
in the next 10 years next while
extraordinary advances in coal mining
have led to safer working conditions and
increased productivity the industry
faces a much more daunting challenge
now it has to clean up its act coal has
always had the reputation of being a
dirty fuel but the industry is developed
new technology that can reduce the four
pollutants naturally found in coal
sulfur nitrogen carbon and mercury the
sulfur found in coal combines with
oxygen when the coal is burnt and
produces sulfur dioxides a major source
of air pollution
acid rain is believed to be another
harmful effect of burning coal the
sulfur and nitrogen released into the
air when the coal is burned can combined
with water vapor and form droplets that
fall to earth as weak forms of sulfuric
and nitric acid but as a result of the
new clean coal technologies 95 percent
of the sulfur and nitrogen in coal can
be filtered out before they can escape
into the atmosphere the Clean Air Act of
1970 provided standards for utilities to
meet and essentially required us to
develop many new technologies to better
combust the coal and so that act was a
technology forcing act and we're burning
coal much cleaner today than we were a
prior to that law being passed one
method the utility companies initiated
was the use of flue gas desulphurization
units also called scrubbers these
scrubbers remove most of the sulfur
oxides from the stream of gases produced
by coal combustion before they go up the
smokestacks
the flue gas is sprayed with an alkaline
agent such as lime or limestone the
chemical reaction forms calcium sulfate
which is then removed and discarded
scrubbers are applied to some power
plants and they can reduce emissions of
sulfur dioxide by as much as 90% but the
problem is that there's hundreds of
plants that aren't using a full suite of
state-of-the-art control technologies
and they're emitting pollution at four
to ten times the rate that would be
allowed for a new plant that was being
built today another available but not
fully utilized new technology is the
precipitator which removes fly ash the
dark material that results from
burning coal precipitators are filters
that electrically charged particles to
trap and prevent ash from going up the
smokestacks these precipitators can
eliminate more than 90% of the polluting
elements
a pre-combustion method that can reduce
sulfur content from coal by as much as
30% involves simply washing the coal
after it is mined the waste material is
stored and the water is recycled for
future use by power plants sulfur
emissions are also being reduced by the
increased use of coal found in mines
that are naturally low in sulfur the
coal in Wyoming's Powder River Basin for
example is 10 times lower and sulfur
than most coal from the Appalachian
regions using well sulfur coal from the
West is only part of a comprehensive set
of actions that are needed to clean up
air pollution from coal combustion one
of the reasons that we have been thrust
to the forefront of the coal production
in this country is a little sulfur coal
but we also don't have to wash it so
will many eastern and midwestern
operations will have wash plants we
don't we don't have wash plants another
problem associated with coal combustion
is global warming coal-fired power
plants are the largest source of carbon
dioxide in the United States
carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas
that accumulates in the atmosphere
forming a blanket that prevents heat
from escaping and that blanket is
causing temperatures to rise all around
the world and causing our climate to
change clean coal technology will
address the issue of global warming by
one burning the coal more efficiently
and we're also working on technologies
that will sequester the carbon dioxide
so that we can burn the coal and not put
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
the u.s. is joined with other countries
in researching various options for
sequestering or trapping the carbon
dioxide
one possibility involves directly
collecting the carbon dioxide from power
plants and pumping it into oil and gas
reservoirs or on my noble coal seeds
electric utility companies have spent
seventy billion dollars on coal
pollution control devices most recently
they are trying to find better methods
of reducing toxic metals emissions like
mercury one of the Plainfield
technologies that we can use is
gasification and what that means is we
can use a chemical process to convert
the coal from a solid to a gas it can be
burned in a combined cycle process so it
could be burned at great efficiencies so
the source in the future of really clean
power reliable power will be coal
converted to gas the gasification of
coal seems to be the one thing that
everyone agrees upon
the only technology that I know of that
really has promise for making coal truly
clean is integrated gasification
combined cycle technology coupled with
carbon dioxide separation and disposal
to eliminate the harmful co2 emissions
that are contributing to global warming
we still have close to 500,000 square
miles of coal under our feet enough to
last us at least 250 years with such a
vital resource so abundant the
responsibility that comes along with
consuming it grows further technological
breakthroughs will be needed to minimize
ecological damage hopefully the industry
pushed by government science and
environmental watchdogs will find them
[Music]
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