Turkey Mine Disaster

[emmie]

unless i missed another post, surprised no one has mentioned this awful tragedy, possibly up to 300 dead, safety standards seem to be at the heart of the disaster.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/15/mining-disaster-mourning-in-turkey

[treetops68]

So it would seem according to the BBC 10.00 News last night,emmie.

[emmie]

this happened several days ago, looks like the safety issues have not been addressed, its always been a dangerous job, but if they cut corners to make more money i hope the bosses, government or whoever is in charge is made to pay.

[royfromaus]

The actions of the government are incredulous. Where else would the Prime Minister visit the town of the disaster and let his security guards kick lumps out of the protesters. He himself is accused of punching a teenage protester.

Good luck with joining the union Turkey!

[treetops68]

I heartily concur,emmie but from what I saw last night the government appears to be sitting on the fence so far. According to the miners corners have been cut regarding safety since the mine was privatised but whether the bosses will be made to pay we shall have to wait and see.

[paddywak]

From the sound of it the safety standards were pretty grim yet the technology to protect against this sort of thing was in use in British mines for years.In the early 1900's the Safety in Mines Research Establishment (SMRE) was established at Buxton to test eqipment for use underground and develope safety measures and after the Cresswell diaster in 1950 ln which some 80 men perished mostly due to Co poisoning they were largely responsible for the development of the "Self Rescuer" a small portable device which allowed the wearer to breath a smoke filled atmosphere for about an hour,usually enough time to reach a fresh air base.I know from person experiance mining is risky business and you'll never stopaccidents occurring but in many cases the damage if not prevented completely can at least be limited

[emmie]

paddy which is what was said by one British expert on mining, that safety standards don't have to be compromised, as to Erdogan, taking endless security people may be needed, but to harm the citizens seems appalling, those grieving for their loved ones.

[emmie]

they are still pulling out bodies, no one knows for sure if they will get them all out, i hope they do, at least to give them a decent burial, and the families to grieve.

[paddywak]

I back in the mid 70's British Coal began a massive safety drive, using some quite draconian methods to enforce them.Initially people objected and production fell but eventually as people got used it production rose and the accident rate fell.When I joined the industry in 1966 fatal accidents were so common in the industry they barely raised a comment unless they happened at your pit,thankfully by the time the industry was ran down they were that rare that the news would spread round the pits in minutes.The technology is there it only needs to be implemented unfortunately some people will always put profit before peoples lives

[Gromit]

Mining is a very dangerous industry and deaths occur in rich countries as well as poor ones. We had plenty of fatal accidents in the UK before the industry was shut down.

// — 2010: 29 men are killed in New Zealand's worst mining disaster in decades after a huge gas-fueled explosion deep underground ends hopes of rescuing the South Island coal miners, who were caught in a similar blast five days earlier.

— 2010: 33 miners are rescued after being trapped for 69 days in a gold and copper mine in Chile's northern Atacama desert.

— 2010: 29 miners are killed in an explosion at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch coal mine.

— 2007: At least 90 are killed in post-Soviet Ukraine's worst mining disaster, after a methane blast rips through tunnels deep below ground in a coal mine near the eastern city of Donetsk.

— 2007: Six miners, three rescuers are killed in collapses at the Crandall Canyon coal mine in Emery County, Utah.

— 2006: 65 coal miners are killed from a gas explosion in San Juan de Sabinas, in northern Mexico's Coahuila state.

— 2006: 12 killed in a methane explosion at the Sago coal mine in West Virginia.

— 2005: 214 miners die after an explosion deep in a coal shaft in southwestern China. //

We now buy coal cheaper from abroad than we can extract from our own shores. Perhaps this is the price we pay?

[paddywak]

Of course we had fatalities Gromit,my Grandad was lost to a fall of ground,three very good friends went as well one to a fall of ground and two to accidents with machinery and I was nearly added to the list aftr an encounter with a snapped haulage chain.What I'm saying is that the British mining industry was the safetest in the world becase we learned by our mistakes.For example explosions of methane in a mine are very dangerous but a bigger danger is that the initial explosion will set off a self propergating coal dust explosion which can literally rip through a mine in seconds.SMRE research found that by adding "Stone Dust" stone gound to the consistancy of flour to the atmosphere in a sufficient amount extinguished the flame and limited the damage to the immediate area,hence stone dusting became required practice in British mines and no more explosions resulting in huge numbers of deaths.As I keep saying the technology to limit these disasters is there and often it's quite cheaand simple it's just that for some reason some mining industries just wont use i

[paddywak]

Please excuse the typos I'm not fully with it today

[flump1]

Horrendous Emmie, I gather through the media that this mine ( or maybe Turkey ) has a really poor safety record. It is heart breaking watching the coverage on he news.

[Gromit]

Paddywak

The cause of the Turkey Mine collapse is not know. We do not know if safety was cut or if procedures such as you suggest were or were not being used. It is fare too early to make a judgement.

The mine was recently privatised and a company with clise ties to the Conservative Government bought it. Which is why an accident has become a political issue.

[paddywak]

Gromit,it's not a collapse it's a disaster,early reports mentioned an electrical explosion causing a loss of ventilation and with so many deaths reported as being due to Co poisoning it's obvious that fire was a major factor.While I agree it's too early to point the finger untill all the facts are known history leads me to believe that when this sort of event occurs human error is usually involved either by accident,ignorance or through some one circumventing safety procedures

[marval]

This is terrible, so many lives lost their safety record is appalling. My heart goes out to all those who lost loved ones and those still waiting for news.

[marval]

*lost*

[Old_Geezer]

Unsure what there is to be said on it. It's totally unjustifiable the miners are at such high risk, and the world is powerless, it seems, to ensure the country gets its act together. It's not the first time, and nothing seems to have improved. One expects a risk and that accidents do happen occasionally, but on this scale, the system obviously failed.

[youngmafbog]

Coal gas has carbon monoxide in it, doesnt need a fire. That is why it was popular to stick your head in the oven.

There was an electrical fault, the ventilators stopped so the poisonous gas could not be pumped out.

The big fault would appear to be the fact all ventilators were on one circuit that could take them all out. However, far too early to point the finger.

[paddywak]

Youngma,Methane or Coal Gas (CH4) doesn't contain Carbon Monoxide (CO) that's formed when the oxygen in the air reacts with the methane during combustion, therefore there must have been a fire and quite big one at that to contaminate the air in all the mine.

[emmie]

whatever the faults, this is a terrible tragedy, i was watching it on the news
yesterday and wondered these men couldn't find other work, or if it well paid, i don't know, one woman said she encouraged her husband to apply for a job there, and now he is dead, not sure the count but last i heard was near 300.