2007年VOA标准英语-New Technology Could Save Miners' Lives
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By Jeff SwicordWashington
18 May 2007
It is being called revolutionary in the field of mine safety. A West Virginia company has unveiled a new piece of technology that the company says could prevent most deaths from mining accidents. VOA's Jim Bertel reports from Capitol Hill.
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Entrance to mine rescue chamber
In January 2006, a methane2 explosion trapped 12 miners at the International Coal Group's Sago mine in West Virginia. All but one died of carbon monoxide asphyxiation3. It was the nation's worst mining accident in recent years.
This week on Capitol Hill, the West Virginia mine equipment company A.L. Lee Corporation, unveiled new technology that it claims could have saved the Sago miners' lives.
Company officials call it an underground rescue chamber. Congressman4 George Miller5, a Democrat6 from California, is chairman of the Education and Labor7 Committee that oversees8 mine safety.
"It is a very exciting moment in the history of mine safety to now know that this will become the standard of care, the duty of care that the government and mining companies owe to those individuals that go down into the mines everyday," said Mr. Miller.
Most mine deaths occur due to lack of oxygen and the presence of carbon monoxide and other toxic9 gases. A.L. Lee Corporation officials say the emergency shelter contains enough oxygen, food, water and light sources for 35 miners to survive for up to 96 hours while they await rescue. The company is planning to build the chambers10 large enough to hold 50 miners.
The shelter is housed in a steel containment11 vessel12. Inside are water, food and oxygen. The shelter inflates13 in about three minutes, and breathable air is immediately discharged into the shelter. The covering is made of five protective layers. The center layer is aluminum14. The A.L. Lee Corporation says that guarantees that carbon monoxide cannot enter the chamber.
Congressman Nick Rahall represents the state of West Virginia. It is one of the largest coal producers in the U.S. It will be the first state to require that all mining companies equip their mines with rescue chambers like this within the next year.
"Protecting our nation's coal miners and improving their working conditions is a constant and ongoing15 process. And we can never say it is complete," said the congressman.
An A.L. Lee Corporation representative says the company plans to sell its chamber for $70,000 to $90,000 each and the International Coal Group that owns the Sago mine is buying $3 million worth. The coal company plans to begin deploying16 them in its mines this August.
