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IHTTRTTER' / Govt, of India

- W T S R W jK J-HIcW
Ministry of Labour and Employment

tssrT^T

TpitydniRT

Directorate General of Mines Safety

DGMS (Tech.) (S&T) Circular No. Qi> o f 2016

Dlianbad, dated o

2016

To
All Owners, Agents and Managers of Coal Mines
Subject: Em ergency M anagem ent Plan for Indian coal and m etal mines
Sir,
Abbreviations - DGMS: Directorate General o f Mines Safety; CIL: Coal India
Limited; SCCL: Singareni Collieries Company Limited; CIMFR: Central Institute of

Mining and Fuel Research; ISM: Indian School o f Mines; MOIL: Manganese Ore j
India Limited; UCIL: Uranium Corporation of India Limited; HCL: Hindustan Copper \
Limited; HZL: Hindustan Zinc Limited; HINDALCO: Hindalco Industries Limited; j
SAIL: Steel Authority o f India Limited.

Regulation 199A of the Coal Mines Regulationsh.957 & Regulation 190A of the
Metalliferous'Mines Regulations1961 stipulates preparation of an emergency plan
for every mine having workings belowground for use in time of emergency. The
emergency plan shall incorporate provision for mock rehearsals at regular intervals.
Recently, a DGMS (Tech.) (S8sT) Circular no.05 dated 2nd April 2016 was issued,
detailing an integrated approach for development of Safety Management Plan for
coal and metalliferous mines and also underlining the concept of emergency
exercise..
On 22nd April 2016, a workshop on 'Emergency Preparedness and Response
System was

organized at DGMS,

Dhanbad,

for facilitating discussion and

deliberations on recent developments in . emergency management in mines and


suggests inputs for drawing up' a roadmap to effect a qualitative improvement in

the system m vogue, Eighty five name safety &' rescue experts from different
stakeholders like GIL, SCCL, HCh, MOIL, HINDALCO, Tata Steel, SAIL, UCIL, ISM,
CIMFR and DGMS participated in the workshop,

Based on the simulated emergency exercises conducted by DGMS and inputs


gathered from the workshop, a guideline for developing emergency management
plan for Indian coal and metal mines is enclosed as Appendix,

All Owners, Agents and Managers of coal & metalliferous mines are advised to
ensure compliance with this circular.

Vyvv>

.11 huh
a]
(Rahul
G-uha)

Director General of Mines Safety

Appendix to PGMS'(Tech.) (S&T) Circular N o . o f 2016,

dated ts3jQS~| 2016

1. Introduction

Scenario planning & Hypothesis testing exercise may be conducted to consider


different hypothetical (but likely) scenario of mine emergencies vis-a-vis barriers to
prevent, in the backdrop of risk assessment and initiated hazard control measures.
Mine officials of neighboring mines vpth decent exposure to risk assessment
process may be engaged to conduct the exercise with facilitation by experts.
During interaction sessions efforts would be made to search for solutions/controls
of possible hazards and risks that.may not have been previously identified.
One of the critical decisions to be made following an emergency is the classification
of that event to initiate appropriate level of response. Often it has been observed
that several events, some resulting in multi fatalities, could not be designated as
emergencies promptly enough, thus critically delaying the initiation of appropriate
responses. The management and control of any event, whether involving one or
several persons, is always best controlled through an effective and automatic
response plan initiated at the earliest possible time.
2. Trigger action response plan and emergency initiation protocol
Regular inspections are to be made as per the established protocol to identify the
possible

sources

of hazards

and

initiate

remedial

measures

by

activating

mechanism of control/elimination. Taking due account of situations prevailing at


mine site, Trigger Action Response Plans (TARPs) and 'Emergency Initiation
Protocols (EIPs) need to be devised, for each level in the order of their seriousness
and gravity.

3. Self rescue and aided rescue

Objective evidence gathered during the course of conducting emergency exercises


worldwide demonstrated that adoption of self-escape philosophy offers the best
chance of survival to the underground personnel, when abfy supported by an aided
rescue strategy, which provides for external assistance to those persons unable to

reach a place of safety, unaided, ' Ingraining the philosophy, an -action plan for
formulation of an emergency management plan (EMP) has been illustrated in
Figure -.1 for Indian mines.
4. Simulated em ergency exercise
The structure of the simulated emergency exercise may be envisaged encompassing
following features in view:

Systematic and consistent with the concept of mutual assistance from other
mines;

Directly addresses the risks prevailing at the mine;


Inclusive of external agencies such as mines rescue station, DGMS, senior
company

officials,

district

administration,

medical

services

and

media

representatives;
Incorporates an assessment and evaluation process;
* In tune .with risk assessment principles to ensure that the exercises do not
introduce new safety risks to persons at a mine

The main function of aided rescue is to provide external assistance to those work
persons unable to reach a place of safety, on their own.. The main features of an
aided rescue protocol are furnished below:

Incident management teams; formation thereof, placement of a code detailing


roles, responsibilities and authorities -of persons engaged in the exercise and
inclusion of such details in duty cards, which are essential tools that act as
critical memory prompts and provide a .valuable recording and reporting'
function. It is also imperative to set up verifiable communication channels for
accurate and timely flow of information, both on and off side.
a Control room set up; may include among others, the following:
Requisite facilities for recording and analysis of data; ready availability of
external expert assistance of academic and research institutions;'- and, an

efficient electronic communication system for in-mine as well as external


c ommun i catio n .

0 Mine rescue organizations; essential features are:


Efficient management; manned by a team of dedicated and competent personnel.
Comprehensive mine rescue protocols and guidelines need to be in place. A well
coordinated and structured system of training and retraining of rescue personnel
is a necessary component of any mine rescue management system.

5. Barriers to re-entry
Initiation of a process of hazard analysis and risk assessment is an essential pre
requisite to the event of re-entry. Thereafter; barriers to re-entry may be critically
examined and evaluated and recovery be effected as per devised rescue protocols
and guidelines. '
6. Simulated emergency exercise at Coal Mine- A & Coal Mine- B
Two emergency exercises were conducted at Coal Mine-A and Coal Mine-B tc assess
the emergency preparedness and response systems in Indian coal mines.
6.1 Observations
In general;' all coal mine personnel were committed to the exercise and the
underground

workers

participated

fully

and

in

good

spirit

under

difficult

circumstances.-'All workers reached places of safety in good time in Coal Mine - A,


whereas 12 persons at Coat Mine - B could not. Samples of (a) exercise event log
and (b) assessment data sheets are enclosed for reference.

The outcome of the exercise, summarized below, also very clearly underlined the
fact, that there are ample opportunities for inducing a qualitative and quantitative
improvement in the existing scenario:

Majority of work persons were not able to don their self rescuer's correctly;

Little efforts were mside by workmen to communicate their circumstances to


.surface; There were little deliberations/planning among the team members before
commencing their evacuation, which resulted in non-ad option of defined
order of travel, agreed route of travel, means to ensure they stayed together;
Some teams had no gas monitoring equipment and others who possessed
them, left the instruments in hurry while evacuating;
The teams did not make any efforts to ascertain the atmospheric conditions
and was not in a position to evaluate the degree of danger to which they are
exposed even after donning the self rescuer's which was of 30 minutes
duration;
There was little, if any discemable ventilation flow to assist the teams in
directional orientation;

Escape ways were not maintained' property and contained numerous trip
hazards & obstructions;
In poor, visibility, signs posted in primary escape ways were of little or no use;
Alternative escape routes were not sign posted;
Not all team leaders ( overman/mining sirdar } were carrying hand plans;
There was an urgent need for:
o developing awareness among work persons about the hazards' and
implications of the underground mine fires;
o training

the

work

persons

in

the

prevention

and ' combat

of

underground mine fires;


There was considerable under estimation of expected evacuation/travel times
at CoaTMine - A;
Fire fighting capabilities and resources available at Coal Mine - B needs
urgent review; and
The main rescue van was under repair and the backup rescue van was not in
full standby mode at Coal Mine - A.

7. R ecom m en d ation s

Based on. the 'inferences drawn from the review of existing practices and conducted
simulated emergency exercises, it is suggested that the following issues may be
kept in perspective while formulating an emergency response management scheme:
a) Consequent upon Risk assessment exercise,

control measures may be

formulated detailing responsibility of concerned mine officials with a protocol


of implementation, to obviate the possibilities of dangerous occurrence in a
coal mine.
b) Scenario planning & hypothesis testing sessions may be conducted to search
for possible solutions/controls of hazards and risks which may have not been
previously identified:
c) Details

of ventilation net works

with ' airflows

and

quantity may be

incorporated in ventilation plan.


d) A schedule of training and re-training need to be drawn up for all.persons on
the correct donning and wearing procedures for self rescuers.
.e) Use of gas chromatography equipment need to be considered for mine gas
analysis purposes.
f)

Current standing orders be reviewed with a view to incorporate concepts like


developing trigger action response plans to establish specific trigger points.

g) Release of stink gas as a mode of emergency initiation protocol' need to be


considered to advise all work persons in the mine, particularly those without
easy access to telecommunication system of an order of evacuation.

h) Establishment

of procedures

detailing

standard

methods

for

deciding

plans/options with work persons prior to evacuation, including routes of


travel, modes of travel, order, of travel, use of link lines, communications,
signaling, etc.

i)

Primary and secondary escape routes be established and maintained-. The


escape ways may be fitted with guide ropes, clearly sign posted and facilities
like fluorescent droppers,

embossed printing be used to make them

identifiable in poor visibility.

j) In each working district, places need to be identified where workmen can


gather in the event of an emergency. Such places are to be equipped with
telephones, mine plans, link lines and blind -man walking sticks.

k) Development of duty cards that individually detail the expected roles,


responsibilities and authorities of all persons in charge of coordinating
and/or controlling an emergency response, which may be kept at a number
of designated places.around the mine site.

l) The construction of defuse chamber' need to be given a serious consideration


to mitigate the hazards associated with, extensive workings and steep
gradient in coal mines like Coed Mine-B.

m) A comprehensive retraining program may b put in place to raise the


awareness of work persons on the circumstances to be expected in the
vicinity of an underground fire, Additional training should be conducted on
the options available to combat underground fires and the. risks and hazards
associated with each.

Director General,of Mines Safety

Fig.l Emergency Management Plan (EMP)-A suggested approach

SAMPLE EMERGENCY EXERCISE EVENT LOG

Coal Mine A

START
TIM E
11:40

ELAPSED
TIME
0:00

EVENTS
A s s e s s m e n t te a m in io w e r S e a m a d v is e w o rk e rs o f th ic k c h o k in g s m o k e
e n te r in g th e ir w o rk p la c e .

.11:45

0:05

A s s e s s m e n t te a m in u p p e r S e a m a d v is e w o rk e rs o f t h ic k c h o k in g
s m o k e e n te rin g t h e ir w o r k p la c e .

11:50

M in e w o rk e rs d o n n e d S e lf R e s c u e rs a n d c o m m e n c e d e v a c u a tio n .

0:10

11.54

S ird a r fr o m E s c a p in g te a m 1 a d v is e d s u rfa c e o f c irc u m s ta n c e s .

0:14

11:58

A c tin g M a n a g e r te le p h o n e s M in e s R escue B rig a d e .

0:18

12:03

E s c a p in g te a m 3 a rr iv e a t p it- b o ttc m ( s h a ft) .

0:23

12:05

O n e w o r k e r e a ch fr o m E s c a p in g te a m s 1 a n d 2 s im u la te co lla p se ,

0:25

(u n c o n s c io u s ) fr o m c a rb o n m o n o x id e p o is o n in g .'

12:05
12:08

Ii

E s c a p in g te a m 4 a rr iv e a t p it- b o tto m ( s h a ft) .

0:25

M in e s R e s c u e B rig a d e r e a d y to le a v e s ta tio n - s ix p e rs o n s / fu iiy

0:28

e q u ip p e d .

,12:09

E s c a p in g te a m s i and 2 a rr iv e a t p it- b o tto m ( s h a ft) a n d c o n ta c t th e

0:29
1

O n s e tte r a n d th e s u rfa c e B a n k s m a n .
E s c a p in g te a m s 1 & 2 d e m a n d e d c a g e to c o m p le te e v a c u a tio n to
s u rfa c e ;

. 12:11

E s c a p in g te a m 3 fk 4 d e m a n d e d c a g e to c o m p le te e v a c u a tio n to
s u rfa c e .

12:13

A m b u la n c e a rriv e s

12:15

E s c a p in g te a m 1 & 2 a rriv e d a t s u rfa c e A tte n d a n c e C a b in .

12:30

E s c a p in g te a m 3 & 4 a rriv e d a t s u rfa c e A tte n d a n c e C a b in .

12:38

o n s u rfa c e .

E x e rc is e T e r m in a te d .
J____________________________________________________ ;______________________ _

0:33
0:35

0:58
i
i

Coal Mine - A

Sample assessment sheet (Emergency evacuation):

Team 4 at 35 Stopping, lower Seam

Assessors: Three officials (Coal co m p a n y-on e; International Expert-one; DGMS -one)


ELEMENT
In fo rm a tio n
e m e rg e n c y
to

th e

35

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

about

th e

c irc u m s ta n c e

S ird a r

s to p p in g

p resen t
of

OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE SOUGHT

T h ic k C h o k in g S m o k e c o m in g d o w n

R e c o g n itio n

of

intakes.

c irc u m s ta n c e s .

changed

OBSERVATION
# M in in g S ird a r im m e d ia tely s to p p e d w o rk in g a n d
s ta rte d e v a cu a tin g .

# C o u n te d

at

num ber

of

w o rk m e n

p re s e n t

in

th e

w o rk p la c e .

lo w e r

# S ird a r d id n o t c ro s s -c h e c k th e in fo rm a tio n .

s e am .

[.Information given by the


Assessor a t 11.45am.']
M in e
n o tifie d

w o rk e rs
by

to

S ird a r

a n d a c c o u n te d for; and

c o n s id e re d ; a n d

T h ey w ere

M in e

Lo g tim e s.

# E ffo rts w e r e n o t m a d e to in fo rm m in e w o rk e r s

w o rk e r s

m a rs h a le d

L o c a tio n

of

o u tb y e

w o rk e rs

a tm o s p h e re

and

U n d e rs ta n d in g

e v a c u a tio n stra te g y .

r e c o g n itio n

[Assessor inform ed that:


Canary birds were
found unconscious;
N il
methane
observed, and
Flam e safety lamp still
burning]

e v a c u a tio n .

m a rs h a le d to g e th e r w ith in 8 m inutes.

lo c a te d in th e o u tb y e area.

to q e th e r.
M in e

& a c c o u n te d fo r.

A ll m in e w o rk e r s w e re

th e in cid en t.

n o tifie d

# A ll M in e w o rk e rs w e r e lo c a te d

be
about

th e

of

situ a tio n

th e

risks

and
w h ile

A b ility to id e n tify risk's a n d c h a lk


o u t e v a c u a tio n pla n a c c o rd in g ly ;
Team

d is c u s s io n

le a d e r

to

e v a c u a tio n

in itia te d b y the

c o n s id e r
and

o p tio n s

d e c id e

r o u te

fo r
of

e v a c u a tio n a n d d e c id e d th e ro u te o f e va cu a tio n .

# N o b rie fin g p ro v id e d to c r e w b y th e S ird a r a b o u t


e x p e c te d ro u te o f travel, m e th o d o f trave l o r m e th o d

trave l; a n d
U se

# L a c k o f u n d e rs ta n d in g d is p la y e d by Sirdar.
# N o tim e lo g g e d w h ile e v a cu a tin g .
# S ird a r d id n o t d is c u s s a b o u t th e o p tio n s fo r s a fe

o f d e v ic e s a n d

m e th o d s to

to e n s u re n o -o n e is le ft be hind.

a s s e s s th e a tm o s p h e ric c o n d itio n

w h ile e v a c u a tio n .

c o n d itio n s b y m e th a n o m e te r a n d fla m e s afe b/ la m p

W h ile

e v a c u a tin g ,

ch e c k in g

of

a tm o s p h e ric

w a s n o t c a rrie d o u t by th e Sirdar.

D o n n in g o f S e lf R e s c u e rs

S e lf

R e c o g n itio n o f e x p e c te d d u ra tio n o f

# S e lf r e s c u e rs d o n n e d in tw o m in u te s tim e . T h r e e

a n d its a p p lic a b ility u n d e r

and

e v a c u a tio n

c r e w m e m b e rs p u t s e lf re s c u e rs o n sa tis fa c to rily , a n d

p r e s e n t c irc u m s ta n c e s .

F itte d in s u ffic ie n t tim e.

s e lf re scu e rs.

r e s c u e rs

fitte d

c o rre ctly;

v is -a -v is

w o rk in g

life

of

tw o c r e w m e m b e rs p u t h e ad s tra p s on o v e r h e lm e ts.

# L ife o f s e lf re s c u e r 'v is - a - v is trave l tim e 'was n o t


a s s e s s e d b y S ird a r b e fo re c o m m e n c in g e v a c u a tio n .
I n c id e n t E q u ip m e n t.

W h a t e x tra e q u ip m e n t is ta k e n

[May be
carried
workmen & Sirdar.]

[Put smoke glasses on ail crew


members and one assessor.]
[Supply blind man canes]

by

R e c o rd e q u ip m e n t ta k e n

S ird a r c a rrie d m e th a n o m e te r a n d fla m e s a fe ty la m p .

Sirdar, t o c o n ta c t S u rfa ce

D e s c rib e c irc u m s ta n c e s ;

c o n tro l o n p h o n e .

In fo rm

about

P ro v id e

num ber

c o m p le te

and

c o rr e c t

S ird a r c o u ld n o t c o n ta c t s u rfa c e a s n o p h o n e w a s
a v a ila b le fo r th e p u rp ose .

inform ation;, a n d

of

L og tim e s.

w o rk m e n a c c o u n te d for; and
E x p e c te d ro u te o f travel.
R o u te o f trave l.

[To be decided by the


Sirdar after studying the
mine
plan
and
deliberation with team
members.]

A p p ro p ria te m e a n s d e cid e d ;

M o n ito r

A il w o rk m e n tr a v e le d to ge th er;

in cid en ts; and

P a c e o f tra v e l a p p ro p ria te ;

Lo g tim e s.

C o rre c t

escape

ro u te

and.

re c o rd

s ig n ific a n t

# T h e te a m le d b y S ird a r c o m m e n c e d e v a c u a tio n a t
11.47 am .
# N o d is c u s s io n w a s h e ld a b o u t m e th o d o r ro u te o f
tra v e l.

w as

fo llo w e d ;

# N o d is c u s s io n w a s h e ld on o rd e r o f tra v e l i.e. w h o

U s e o f b lin d -m a n cane s; and

s h o u ld

U s e o f lin k - lin e s

to g e th e r.

le ad

w ho

to

fo llo w

last,

how

to

s tic k

# L e a d p e rs o n c h a n g e d fo u r tim e s as te a m m e m b e rs
w a lk e d p a s t e a ch o the r.
# W o rk e r s w e r e a c q u a in te d w ith e s c a p e route.
# S p e e d o f trave l w a s sa tisfa cto ry .
# B o d y c o n ta c t b e tw e e n ' s o m e w o rk e rs w a s e x c e lle n t
- o th e r s w a lk e d on th e ir o w n .
# O b s tru c tio n s a lo n g e s c a p e ro u te w e r e n a v ig a te d
w e ll.
.# C o n ta c t w ith te a m

m e m b e rs w a s m a in ta in e d b y

"h u m m in g " th ro u g h m o u th p ie c e s .

A c tio n

at

P it

(shaft).

bo tto m

C o n ta c t

m ade

w ith

O n-setter;

and
C o n ta c t

m ade

w ith

C o rre c t

In fo rm a tio n

passed

on;

T h e te a m e s ta b lis h e d c o n ta c t w ith o n s e tte r a t 1 2 .3 4

and

pm , a n d

L og tim e s.

/ O ffic ia ls p re s e n t a t th e s urface .

th e re a fte r m a d e c o n ta c t

w ith

B anksm an

B a n k s m a n /S u rfa c e offic ials .


A c tio n s o n s u rfa c e .

A c c o u n tin g

clerk; a n d

e x ite d th e m in e a fte r e m e rg e n c y ;

fo r

D e -b rie fin g .

and

re g is te r.

D e b rie fin g

of

w o rk m e n

re c o rd

w ho

# W o rk m e n le d by S ird a r m a rk e d o u t a n d a c c o u n te d

C o n ta c t m a d e w ith a tte n d a n c e

in fo rm a tio n

s o u g h t a n d p a s s e d on.

by

th e

a tte n d a n c e

c le rk

in

th e

a tte n d a n c e

# D e b rie fin g o f S ird a r a n d te a m m e m b e rs w e re d o n e


b y a te a m o f a sse sso rs. W h ile s o m e te a m m e m b e rs
e x h ib ite d a fa ir u n d e rs ta n d in g , y e t in g e n e ra l, th e re
e x is t critica l g a p s in th e im p le m e n ta tio n m o d u le o f
e m e r g e n c y p re p a re d n e s s a n d r e s p o n s e sy ste m o f th e
m ine .

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