Environmental and Safety Risks Related to Methane Emissions in Underground Coal Mine Closure Processes

Abstract

The closure process of underground coal mines entails specific risks which require a careful liquidation methodology, including the implementation of relevant risk mitigation procedures to identify the key hazards to the environment and humans. As gas represents one of the major risks, it needs to be taken into consideration in the liquidation process. Given its adverse effect on the environment, methane, a greenhouse gas, requires particular attention and may also reach dangerous concentrations in the ground floor areas and basements of buildings as well as in areas where mine closure works are conducted, leading to intoxication, asphyxia or explosions. This paper presents a risk analysis of the methane hazard occurring at the final stage of the closure process of a Polish underground mine. It applies a methane emission model created jointly by the National Institute for the Environment and Industrial Hazards (INERIS) in France and the Central Mining Institute (GIG) in Poland. The analyses and measurements carried out for this paper were conducted within the framework of the Management of Environmental Risks during and after Mine Closure (MERIDA) project. The subject of the study included: the flooding process and how it affects the scale of gas emission from goafs, changes in methane concentration, and changes in the volume of voids.