Detection of gas

• Pages: 21-25

4. Detection of gas

4.1.

Inspection

4.1.1.

Pre-shift examinations of the working places and

regular determination of the firedamp content in the mine air

should be made in accordance with the requirements of national

laws and regulations.

4.1.2.

(1) Supervisory officials and other personnel of the

mine who are directed to make inspections or examinations for

gas and of the state of the ventilation should be given a clear

understanding of the parts of the mine for which they are respon-

sible.

(2) As new roads or workings are started and old ones finished,

the supervisory officials should be informed in good time by their

superiors of any changes in the inspection arrangements.

(3) Any changes in the ventilation arrangements that may

affect their section of the mine should also be brought to their

notice.

(4) They should also be informed of any other type of

gas

that

may be expected to occur in the mine and of the steps to be taken

in the event of its being detected.

4.1.3.

Any person whose duty it is to test for methane should

be thorough and conscientious in his work and should at all times

guard against the false sense of security that is engendered by the

assumption that because a place has been habitually free of gas

in the past it will always remain so.

4.1.4. After inspecting for gas and the state of the ventilation,

the person concerned should record in his report the presence of

firedamp and any unusual incidents or abnormalities affecting the

efficiency of the ventilation system and likely to endanger safety,

i.e.—

(a) the percentages and location of any gas encountered;

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