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Study of Conditions near Mine Seals

Study of Conditions near Mine Seals. Abandoned mines, whether sealed or not, are often located on public lands that are used for camping, hiking, hunting, and other forms of recreation. Sealed mines can be hazardous to passersby. Hazards may include :

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Study of Conditions near Mine Seals

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  1. Study of Conditions near Mine Seals

  2. Abandoned mines, whether sealed or not, are often located on public lands that are used for camping, hiking, hunting, and other forms of recreation. Sealed mines can be hazardous to passersby.

  3. Hazards may include: • Pressure may build up in the sealed opening, leading to a catastrophic failure of the seal. • Hazardous gases, including methane and radon daughters, may leak through the seal and accumulate nearby. Where the seal is recessed from the surface, such accumulation may be more likely. • Where the seal is recessed from the surface, gases may stratify by specific gravity, leading to a local concentration of hazardous gases. • Again, where the seal is recessed from the surface, oxygen may be depleted—naturally or by the presence of humans or animals.

  4. Project activities: • CFD modeling • Monitoring of sealed mines Pressure, Pa Velocity, m/s Wind Direction Wind Direction

  5. Respiration simulation: • Ten people conducting moderate activity • Center of the floor of a space that is 10 by 25 by 20 ft

  6. O2 content at 550 seconds

  7. CO2 content at 550 seconds

  8. O2 content at 1,280 seconds

  9. CO2 content at 1,280 seconds

  10. O2 content at 5,460 seconds

  11. CO2 content at 5,460 seconds

  12. Monitoring System

  13. Monitoring System

  14. Yellow Cat Mining District Uranium Mine Monitoring

  15. Objectives • Test the equipment in the field • Datalogger • Sensors and batteries • Check the mine entrance for: • Temperature • Barometric pressure • CO, CO2, and LEL Levels • Wind velocity and direction

  16. Location

  17. Location

  18. Location

  19. Location

  20. Location Parking Area Entrance to Monitor

  21. View from parking area to mine entrance Mine Entrance

  22. View from parking area to mine entrance Mine Entrance

  23. View from the mine entrance to the parking area

  24. Equipment Setup • The equipment was placed in a plastic cart and put in front of the mine entrance to check for temperature, barometric pressure, gases, wind velocity, and wind direction • The datalogger was provided with a 12-V battery for most of the sensors; the CO2 sensor used two 12-V batteries in series to provide 24 V • Setup time was around 2.5 hours

  25. Equipment Setup Temperature Sensor Wind Direction and Velocity Sensor Cart with gas detectors Datalogger

  26. Equipment Setup Wind Direction Sensor Wind Velocity Sensor Temperature Sensor

  27. Equipment Setup Barometric Pressure Sensor Datalogger

  28. Equipment Setup CO2 Sensor LEL Sensor CO Sensor

  29. Air Temperature

  30. Barometric Pressure (inHg)

  31. CO-C5H12(LEL)

  32. Wind Speed m/s

  33. Wind Direction

  34. Radon Progeny

  35. The concentration of radon daughters is measured in working level (WL) units. This is a measure of the concentration of potential alpha particles per litre of air. The worker's exposure to radon daughters is expressed in units of Working Level Months (WLM). One WLM is equivalent to 1 WL exposure for 170 hours. 1 WL = 130,000 MeV alpha energy per liter air           = 20.8 µJ (microjoules) alpha energy per cubic meter (m3) air WLM = Working Level Month          = 1 WL exposure for 170 hours

  36. Future activity • Return to Yellow Cat and monitor a sealed entry for 24-36 hours • Install the monitoring system at Aberdeen Mine (inactive) and monitor for ~ 1 week

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