Papers by R M Bhattacharjee
Natural Hazards - New Insights [Working Title]
In underground coal mining, the working environment is completely enclosed by the geologic medium... more In underground coal mining, the working environment is completely enclosed by the geologic medium, which consists of the coal seam and overlying and underlying strata. Depillaring is one of the most dangerous phases of underground coal mining. Even after centuries of experience in underground coal mining, there is no well-established depillaring method w.r.t existing geo-mining method. As far as fatal accidents are concerned, most of the fatal accidents occur mostly during depillaring operations. Method of extraction is one of the keys and underrated parameters, which plays an eminent role in successful depillaring in underground coal mining. This chapter highlights the underground coal mining methods and their impact on safety.
Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk
Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment
Methane drainage from coal seams is a complex process. Quantification of the geological and micro... more Methane drainage from coal seams is a complex process. Quantification of the geological and microstructural characteristics of the coal matrix is of utmost importance to assess the migration of methane for the success of methane drainage from coal seams. This research makes a comprehensive assessment of the methane drainage potential of two gassy coal seams of the Moonidih colliery of the Jharia coalfield. Various geological and microstructural characteristics of the coal seams, viz. chemical and petrographical compositions, pore structure, cleat morphology, and permeability, have been investigated. Both the coal seams are identified as type III kerogen, which fall within the gas-prone range reaching the thermogenic methane generation peak. The vitrinite, inertinite, and liptinite content varied in the range of 78.35-84.78%, 13.82-17.88%, and 0-0.47% for the XV seam, and 55.76-68.45%, 29.65-37.53%, and 0.8-0.89% for the XVI seam, respectively. The micropore specific surface area (SSA) and micropore volume, respectively, are determined as 17.084 m 2 /g and 0.0252 cm 3 /g for the XV seam and 15.141 m 2 /g and 0.0216 cm 3 /g for the XVI seam. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) mesopore volume are determined as 0.75 m 2 /g and 0.00307 cm 3 /g, respectively, for the XV seam and 0.66 m 2 /g and 0.003273 cm 3 /g, respectively, for the XVI seam. The XV seam coal was found to be less porous (13.92%) than the XVI seam (15.76%). SEM image analysis revealed that the cleats are more developed in the XV seam; consequently, it possesses greater permeability (0.896 mD) than the XVI seam (0.274 mD). Owing to its favourable geological and microstructural properties, the XV seam is more suitable for methane drainage.
The use of diesel engine powered equipment in underground mines across the globe has been increas... more The use of diesel engine powered equipment in underground mines across the globe has been increased considerably in the recent past to enhance the productivity and safety standards. However, the extensive use of diesel engine powered equipment caused severe health hazards because of the exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM) and toxic gases discharged from the exhausts of these equipment. NIOH and IARC, USA, reported diesel exhausts including DPM are suspected as human carcinogen. The number of diesel equipment deployed in Indian underground mine has also increased exponentially, which resulted into significant level of DPM exposure. There have not been any comprehensive study on the exposure of DPM as well as any stipulation in the current mine safety legislation in India so far except a guideline from DGMS. The concentration of DPM depends upon many factors such as ventilation, engine designs, maintenance, types of fuel, condition of roadways, exhaust treatment arrangements e...
IAMURE International Journal of Ecology and Conservation, 2015
Workplace accidents are investigated mainly for the purpose of identifying the causes that contri... more Workplace accidents are investigated mainly for the purpose of identifying the causes that contributed to the occurrence of the accident and thereby providing recommendations to prevent recurrence of such accidents. The human factor has always been a critical element in the accident causation model applied in various industries. However, it is equally important to identify other parameters like task environment, task conditions, organizational culture and other organizational factors that influence human behavior in most of the cases. In this paper, an effort has been made to discuss some of the investigation models used for identification of root causes leading to an incident or accident. This paper highlighted the gaps in the investigation procedure in the Indian mining industry where too much focus is being given to human error and contravention of the health and safety statute application to mining activities. The authors emphasized the importance of using suitable investigation...
Journal of Sustainable Mining, 2018
In this paper, an attempt has been made to model DPM flow patterns in the vicinity of man riding ... more In this paper, an attempt has been made to model DPM flow patterns in the vicinity of man riding vehicle(s) operating in a coal mine environment. The DPM flow patterns are modelled using the techniques of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and validated using field experimental measurements. The models show that if the vehicle is stationary, DPM particles are dispersed towards the center of gallery. Beyond 20 m downstream of the vehicle, the DPM particles occupy the entire cross-section of the roadway. If movement of the vehicle is considered, the miners may be exposed to a high concentration of DPM due to the engines running at full capacity and the resultant air flow induced by the movement of the vehicle.
Engineering Failure Analysis, 2019
Abstract Workplace accidents are mostly the result of a combined effect of unsafe acts and unsafe... more Abstract Workplace accidents are mostly the result of a combined effect of unsafe acts and unsafe conditions which cause ultimate failure of the existing defenses in the system. The unsafe act or unsafe conditions, task environment and task conditions are the product of some dormant, passive and latent causes generated from the organizational factors. But in accident prevention strategy at the workplace, the major thrust is often put on human behavior behind the unsafe acts. In this paper, an in-depth analysis of a mining disaster in India, as to “Why” and “How” the accident did happen has been carried out and the sequence of events was shown by an Event Sequence Diagram. In this article, efforts have been made to identify the root causes of this accident using an accident causation model like the Accident Causation Tree (ACT) and the Swiss Cheese Model, thereby improving the understanding of the mechanism of the accident. The most important aspect of accident analysis, i.e. the key lessons learned from this accident, has also been identified for the benefit of the industry.
Decision making is one of the important activities in every industry and it becomes more importan... more Decision making is one of the important activities in every industry and it becomes more important in safety critical industry like mining, chemical, aviation etc. The success of an industry is critically linked with its effective decisions and decision-making process. In this paper, authors explain how a decision can be a disaster. One case study disaster due to the wrong decision in Indian scenario is analyzed and discussed. The gaps and weakness in the decision-making process are identified and lessons learned. Towards the end, a hybrid concept of decision making has been suggested in the hope of preventing similar future disasters.
Science, 1924
Accidents cause both in terms of human suffering and economic waste. Safety at work is still a se... more Accidents cause both in terms of human suffering and economic waste. Safety at work is still a serious problem. Creation of a nationally acceptable and internationally comparable mine safety program is a critical success factor for all safety programs being pursued in the country as far as mining industry is concerned.
In response to recent mine disasters and role of mine rescue services in Indian mines, Inspectora... more In response to recent mine disasters and role of mine rescue services in Indian mines, Inspectorate at Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS, Dhanbad) conducted national workshop with mine emergency experts to investigate current needs and issues. Some of the issues include emergency response preparedness, Competency of persons selected in rescue services, Courses of Instruction and Practices prescribed for rescue trained person, Fitness of persons selected for rescue training, Scope of recue and recovery in surface and opencast operations, Rescue and Recovery operation in case of persons engulfed in underground strata failure, caught between extremities, sudden influx of smoke and gases etc.—Rapid transportation of injured miners to the surface, Basic and Advance firefighting skills in open and confined spaces, Training for Exploration and navigation in poor visibility and water hazards, First Aid Training and certification—refresher training in first aid and their periodicity,...
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
Abstract Mining industry, has been a topic of increasing attention in the last few decades. The d... more Abstract Mining industry, has been a topic of increasing attention in the last few decades. The disasters of the past years due to different causes push for a moment of reflexivity about learning from accidents. The increased interest in improving the safety at workplace has been driven mainly by a series of recent mining disasters that have occurred in India as well as in the rest of the world. Disasters in Indian coal mines have caused havoc in the past. In recent times also, there had been 7 disasters since the year 2000 killing 144 persons. The worst disaster ever in Indian mining history is the Chasnala disaster due to inundation in 1975, killing 375 persons. But unfortunately we have learnt very little from these past disasters. The authors in this paper had tried to identify the thrust area along with the gaps in our learning system, which need more attention for maintaining safety by analyzing the past three disasters due to inrush of water in Indian coal mines including Chasnala coal mine disaster, greatest disaster of India mining industry and tried to highlight the weaknesses in the system and key lessons learnt from them.
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Papers by R M Bhattacharjee