It is a sad fact that mining is one of the more dangerous civilian professions that has existed since the onset of industrialisation. However, the good news is that great strides are being taken to improve the safety of miners all around the world.
For example, according to data published be the US Department of Labor, the number of mining fatalities in the US coal industry in the decade of the 1990s was 32 per 100,000 miners; in the first decade of this millennium, this fell to 27 fatalities and for the seven full years of this decade, the average has reduced to 17 fatalities per year per 100,000 miners. So, what is behind this tremendous increase in mining safety?
One area is the use of highly reliable gas detectors that miners permanently wear when working underground, or fixed gas detection systems installed at strategic locations in the mine.
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