Gas masked miner (the old Coal mining museum Heerlen)
Europe, The Netherlands, Zuid Limburg, Heerlen, Dutch Mining Museum, Gasmask (cut from B&T)
A 'stand-in' miner in the Dutch mining museum, wearing a gas mask. Standing before a lift with its instructions.
Mine gas is always a problem in the mines. It was discovered by Alessandro Volta in 1778 and is a gas mixture that consists of more than 93 % methane. Methane (CH4) is colourless, and odourless and non-toxic. Still, in high concentrations, the oxygen content for the respiration of the workers may become too low.
Mine gas is created during the carbonization of plant residues. Because the resulting coal strata are covered with earth and rock layers, the gas cannot escape, and it stays in the coal strata, sometimes under high pressure. The gas release from the coal layers starts as soon as they are exposed. Generally, the release is slow and regular, but the sudden release of large quantities of gas cán happen. Because the gas is only half as heavy as air, it will rise to higher places and gather there. Because industrial mines have powerful ventilation systems. But this is not always enough.
The museum uses the shaft building of the decommissioned Oranje-Nassau 1 mine (once commonly known as ON1). I started up in 1899 and decommissioned in 1974. It's history is here.
For more information, check out the previous post.
This is the last one of the Dutch Mine Museum mini series.
This is, ofcourse, number 19 of Schaufensterpuppen
Gas masked miner (the old Coal mining museum Heerlen)
Europe, The Netherlands, Zuid Limburg, Heerlen, Dutch Mining Museum, Gasmask (cut from B&T)
A 'stand-in' miner in the Dutch mining museum, wearing a gas mask. Standing before a lift with its instructions.
Mine gas is always a problem in the mines. It was discovered by Alessandro Volta in 1778 and is a gas mixture that consists of more than 93 % methane. Methane (CH4) is colourless, and odourless and non-toxic. Still, in high concentrations, the oxygen content for the respiration of the workers may become too low.
Mine gas is created during the carbonization of plant residues. Because the resulting coal strata are covered with earth and rock layers, the gas cannot escape, and it stays in the coal strata, sometimes under high pressure. The gas release from the coal layers starts as soon as they are exposed. Generally, the release is slow and regular, but the sudden release of large quantities of gas cán happen. Because the gas is only half as heavy as air, it will rise to higher places and gather there. Because industrial mines have powerful ventilation systems. But this is not always enough.
The museum uses the shaft building of the decommissioned Oranje-Nassau 1 mine (once commonly known as ON1). I started up in 1899 and decommissioned in 1974. It's history is here.
For more information, check out the previous post.
This is the last one of the Dutch Mine Museum mini series.
This is, ofcourse, number 19 of Schaufensterpuppen