Advancing Critical Health & Safety Aspects of Mine Ventilation Through Technical Developmment and Training

The underground coal mine tragedies early in 2006 at the Sago Mine, the Alma Mine # I and Darby Mine #1, which led to the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of2006 (MINER Act), raised serious concerns ahout coal mine health and safety issues. The results of tthheesepomstinaecsc.ident investigations show that mine ventilation problems were highly significant at There are two main objectives of this proposal: (1) to address research and conduct research studies needed to investigate the critical health and safety aspects related to mine ventilation; and (2) to produce an adequate supply of qualified ventilation engineers with advanced degrees to ensure the future health and safety of the American mine workers. The Department of Mining Engineering at the University of Kentucky plan is to deliver in the five year period four specialized graduates in Mine Ventilation, i.e., two Master of Science graduates and two Doctor of Philosophy in Mining Engineering graduates. There will be four major tasks in the project which are directly tied to the production of each degree. The graduate students enrolled in the program will undertake a series of required courses and perform a research in the health and safety area of mine ventilation.