Mine-fire diagnostics applied to the Carbondale, Pennsylvania mine-fire site. Rept. of Investigations/1992

Technical Report · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:6911301

Kim, A G; Justin, T R; Miller, J F

The U.S. Bureau of Mines applied its mine fire diagnostic method to an abandoned anthracite mine fire site in Carbondale, Lackawanna County, PA. The technique to locate fires in abandoned coal mines and coal refuse piles includes the determination of hydrocarbon concentrations in mine gases, the imposition of an underground gas flow direction, and use of a surface mapping method, to define heated and cold zones in underground coal strata. The heated zones at Carbondale were characterized by elevated methane concentrations. The results of 25 communication tests were analyzed to define 2 large (approximately 100 by 250 ft) and 5 small, isolated heated zones. An approximate correlation existed between the location of the heated zones and areas of anomalous snow melt. The correlation between the results of the diagnostic test and subsurface temperatures was not significant.

• Research Organization: Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Pittsburgh Research Center
• OSTI ID: 6911301
• Report Number(s): PB-93-114676/XAB; BUMINES-RI--9421
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
016000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Health & Safety
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540250 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
ABANDONED SITES
ALKANES
BOREHOLES
CAVITIES
COAL MINES
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS
DETECTION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
FIRES
FLUID FLOW
GAS ANALYSIS
GAS FLOW
HYDROCARBONS
METHANE
MINES
MINING
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PENNSYLVANIA
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND MINING
USA