Escape Scenerios - Mine Conditions Encountered during a Mine Emergency based on Actual Incidents

NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE A PURCHASE ORDER. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) hereby announces its intent to issue a purchase order to the United Mine Workers of America Career Centers for Escape Scenarios - Mine Conditions Encountered during a Mine Emergency Based on Actual Incidents Background and Need: Coal mine explosion and fire air quality and ventilation data has been recorded during emergency responses and, although summaries of the mine conditions may have been published in the investigation reports, the data is not continuous along escape routes or available where miners may need to take refuge. Explosion events such as Upper Big Branch, SAGO, Darby, JWR #5, Willow Creek 2000, Southmountain, Pyro, Greenwich, or McClure and fires such as Alma #1, Mathies, BethEnergy 33, Marianna, or Wilberg could be used (see Table 1) to create scenarios which describe a consensus estimate of the likely conditions miners would encounter during their escape. In the 16 incidents listed there were 119 fatalities and 172 escapees or miners rescued. For purposes of this exercise, the actions expected from the miners may be different than the original event, because today, they could utilize new technology required to be available in all coal mines per the 2006 MINER Act, but the mine environment, post-incident, will not change. Three applications for this information have been identified. The W-65 filter self-rescuer (FSR) was abandoned as an escape respirator breathing device because of the demonstrated presence of threat gases other than Carbon Monoxide and the likelihood of Oxygen deficiency during emergencies. Technology advancements over the last 25 years in noxious gas filters, CO/CO2 catalysts, and oxygen dosing electronics are being investigated to develop a better escape respirator with increased life and/or reduced weight and size vs. the closed circuit designs. This escape scenario report may be able to eliminate this design path for a new open circuit, oxygen dosed, FSR if the environmental criteria negate its advantages or it may support continued development. No historical cases of coal mine refuge chamber use are available on which to base the thermal environment assumptions or air lock design criteria. For example, at Upper Big Branch measurements of the mine air temperature were reported as 95 degrees F throughout the mine. More data is needed to determine the conditions under which a refuge must function in a variety of situations. Refuges have been used in metal/non-metal underground mines, such as during the fire at Saskatchewan Potash, while equipment fires burned out. These hardrock mine conditions are believed to be covered well enough for design purposes by the coal mine event conditions described here. Training methods have evolved over time and are being developed within a virtual reality context. Emergency response is one area that can benefit from VR because it is expected to improve retention, allow acceptable realism without endangering personnel, demonstrate competency, and be made available to a wide range of participants. Knowledge of post-incident mine conditions based on real events will allow better, more realistic escape scenarios to be created. Project Objectives: The project objective is to produce post-incident scenarios that describe the coal mine environment likely to be encountered during escapes from fires or explosions based on four actual incidents, assuming that current technology is in place for communications, tracking, and refuge alternatives. These scenarios would be used to assist in defining the operating criteria for two current projects and case studies for a third. Future escape breathing devices must be able to protect miners from the threat gases in the mine atmosphere following an emergency. The mine condition data developed under this contract will help determine environmental criteria that any next generation breathing device must meet. In particular the proposed open circuit, Filter Self Rescuer (FSR) or closed circuit self-rescuer, must meet to be accepted as an escape device and whether or not such an approach could be viable. Second, refuge alternatives must have operational air locks that allow miners to enter or leave even if the surrounding mine environment is contaminated and/or irrespirable without harming the inhabitants. Further, the heat exchange properties of the refuge alternative will be impacted by the dynamic ambient conditions of the area of the mine. This data would provide evidence on which to base the airlock purging requirements and thermal management designs. Third, more realistic Virtual Reality escape scenarios could be created with better data on the conditions expected to be encountered based on actual emergencies. Responsible sources that believe they possess the expertise and capabilities identified above are encouraged to submit to the Contracting Officer within 15 days from the posting date of this notice, their written item description/item characteristics and pricing information in the format they choose, not to exceed 10 pages. Please forward the item description and pricing information to Margaret L. Mooney, CDC NIOSH, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, Reference 2012-Q-14898. All vendors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to an award of a federal contract. The website is: www.ccr.gov. The Government will review any/all item descriptions and pricing information submitted and determine if other qualified sources do exist that could provide this requirement. Information received in response will be used solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. If no affirmative responses are received within 15 days, in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), negotiations will be conducted with United Mine Workers of America Career Centers, 640 Jefferson Avenue, Washington, PA 15301 as the only source and a purchase order will be issued without any additional notices being posted.