Location algorithm based on fingerprint has been applied to underground tunnel of coal mines. However, obvious and unignorable errors will occur if reference locations are selected sparsely when detecting unknown points, which may make it difficult for locating people in coal mines. Hence, an underground location algorithm based on convex sets of Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) is pr...

Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication has been the subject of extensive research due to its unique capabilities and potential applications. Some see UWB as an enabling technology for new wireless applications that span from high-data-rate transmission of raw multimedia video to new location-aware, low-data-rate, and low-power communication of sensor and actuator data. Underground mines, which are ...

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is a federal government department specializing in the sustainable development and use of natural resources—energy, minerals and metals, forests—and in Earth sciences. NRCan deals with natural resource issues that are important to Canadians. These issues are examined from both a national and international perspective, our expertise in science and technology, pol...

The most important aspect of the MINER Act is providing reliable communication for miners before and after tragic accidents. Reliable communication has always been a challenge in underground mines due to changing topologies and harsh environment. In addition, disasters disable electricity and communications cables, block tunnels and cause fire. These may damage the communication infrastructure ...

Implementation of clean mining technology at coal mines is crucial to protect the environment and maintain balance among energy resources, consumption, and ecology. After reviewing present coal clean mining technology, we introduce the technology principles and technological process of paste backfill mining in coal mines and discuss the components and features of backfill materials, the constit...

OBJECTIVES To describe the prevalence of lung function abnormality and coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) by mine size among underground coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. METHODS During 2005-2012, 4491 miners completed spirometry and chest radiography as part of a health surveillance programme. Spirometry was interpreted according to American Thoracic Society and European R...

Under the Egyptian program for radiation safety and control, airborne radioactivity measurements and radiological dose assessment were conducted in some phosphate and uranium mines. Abu-Tartor mine is one of the biggest underground phosphate mines in Egypt. Airborne radioactivity, radon ((222)Rn) and its short-lived decay products (progenies) and thoron ((220)Rn), were measured in selected loca...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study is to estimate the immune function through cytokine profiles in sera of uranium mines. METHODS Antibody arrays were used to detect 50 cytokines in sera of uranium miners. Miners who had continuously worked underground for <5 years were treated as control group and those who worked for ⩾ 5 years as experimental group. RESULTS Of 28 measurable cytokines, the rel...

Introduction What can the canary in the coal mine tell us? Historically, canaries accompanied coal miners deep underground. Their small lung capacity and unidirectional lung ventilation system made them more vulnerable to small concentrations of carbon monoxide and methane gas than their human companions. As late as 1986, the acute sensitivity of these birds served as a biological indicator of ...

Since 1952 two to three deaths from primary cancer of the lung have occurred regularly each year among the male inhabitants of the small fluorspar mining community of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland. These constituted 23 of the 51 deaths that occurred during the 10-year period 1952-61 among employees with one or more years of underground mining experience. A shift to a younger average age at death f...