Nowa kategoryzacja zagrożenia wybuchem pyłu węglowego w podziemnych zakładach górniczych

W artykule przedstawiono ocenę aktualnie obowiązujących kryteriów klasyfikacji pokładów węgla, wyrobisk górniczych oraz metodyki oznaczeń w kategoryzacji zagrożenia wybuchem pyłu węglowego, a następnie, na podstawie wniosków wynikających z tej oceny, sformułowano propozycję nowej kategoryzacji zagrożenia wybuchem pyłu węglowego oraz zweryfikowane brzmienie definicji opisujących to zagrożenie.

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Current regulations have been verified against the assessment of the existing criteria for the classification of coal deposits and mine workings based on the coal dust explosion hazard presented in the article and on the methodology of markings used to categorise this hazard. The proposal for the new classification of coal dust explosion hazard was then formulated, based on the assessment of the factual coal dust explosion hazard, pertaining only to mine workings. The proposal gives up the classification of coal deposits for coal dust explosion hazard, and in the case of workings – shafts and foreshafts were included. The new coal dust explosion hazard classification matches the binary classification requirements, according to which mine workings or their parts and shafts (foreshafts) are categorised as either with or without such hazard and marked with one of two hazard categories (A or B). The primary criteria for categorising a mine working as without the risk of coal dust explosion are: lack of coal dust presence or appropriate level of dust protection against explosion (content of non-flammable solids or of free water). In the case of the existence of the coal dust explosion hazard, classification under the A category depends on the length and location of sections with unprotected coal dust – in the case of mine workings, or the presence of protected mine dust or average content of coal dust below 5 g/m3 – in the case of shafts (foreshafts). The article contains a proposal for a new wording of the definitions describing the criteria of coal dust explosion hazard classification as well.