Standards - NOM (Mexican Official Norms) on Security for Underground Coal Mines

1. Standards - NOM (Mexican Official Norms) on Security for Underground Coal Mines

2. 1. Objective To establish the security conditions and requirements over the facilities and operations of the underground coal mines to prevent risks to the workers that work in them.

3. 2. Application Area Rule on the whole national territory and applies to all underground coal mines, including handmade extraction such as wells, where activities related to coal exploitation are developed.

4. 3. Content

5. 4. Specific Programs • Degassing Plan. • Maintenance to the equipments and electrical installations. • Revision to the equipment and electric material.

6. 5. Procedures • Attending emergences. Content • Alarm, notice and answer to the emergency. • Evacuating the mine. • First aid. • Rescue and salvation. • Coordination of brigades with other external. • Access control to the mine. • Return to the mine or well after the emergency.

7. 5. Procedures • Security for the reception, internal transport, storage, usage and handling of explosives. • Works of maintenance and operation on the main and secondary fans of the ventilation system. • Measurements on the ventilation system and on the mine’s atmosphere.

8. 5. Procedures • Dusting of ceiling, walls and floors. • Maintenance of equipment and electric installations. • Welding and cutting. • Verification of hydrants, extinguishers and auto rescuers.

9. 5. Procedures • Maintenance to equipment and machinery. • Excavation and fortification. • Extraction of coal and preservation of the protection barrier or pillar. • Transportation of personnel to the inside of the mine.

10. 6. Safety Measures • Verification journeys of the conditions at the inside of the mine prior to the beginning of each shift. • Fixed systems against fires and reserves of inert dust. • Monitoring at a distance the concentrations of methane at the workfronts.

11. 6. Safety Measures • Simulacrum of attending emergencies. • Transportation of personnel to the inside of the mine. • Reception, storage, usage, transport, handling, consumption and return of explosives. • Activities of welding and cutting.

12. 6. Safety Measures • Handling of the work fronts. • Undermining and demolitions. • Control of ventilation. • Control of degassing. • Analysis of occurred accidents.

13. 7. Permissible Limits 7.1 Maximum content of methane:

14. 7. Permissible Limits 7.2 Incombustibility:

15. 8. Acknowledgment, Evaluation and Control 8.1 Geologic, hydrogeologic and mechanic of rocks studies To determine: • Arches or metallic or wooden frames. • Shores of thrown, armed or pre-strained concrete. • Confinement bolt, screw or cable of the floor, ceiling and boards.

16. 8. Acknowledgment, Evaluation and Control 8.1 Geologic, hydrogeologic and mechanic of rocks studies To determine: • Pre-effort systems of the ceiling. • Founded pillars by the natural rock itself or artificially. • The combination of any of the previous types.

17. 8. Acknowledgment, Evaluation and Control 8.2 Analysis of potential risks • Areas, processes and activities on the whole mine. • Identification of the risks by position. • Identification of the higher impact risks. • Probability of risk occurrence. • Number of events by unit of time which may occur. • Ranking of the risks based on their probability of occurrence and possible impact.

18. 9. Administrative Registries 9.1 Plans • Geologic, structural, (faults, deformations, amongst other). • Structural support of the mine. • Identification and location of personnel inside the mine, preferably in real time.

19. 9. Administrative Registries 9.1 Plans • Operations of coal extraction with the location of aquifers neat to the mining operation and of deposits of superficial waters. • Ventilation circuits. • Mining operations.

20. 9. Administrative Registries 9.1 Plans • Location of machinery and equipment. • Location of electric equipment, telephony and communications.

21. 9. Administrative Registries 9.2 Logs (electronic registries) • Access control of personnel to the inside of the mine. • Used machinery and equipment. • Consumption of explosives per shift.

22. 9. Administrative Registries 9.2 Logs (electronic registries) • Measurements of the resistance of ground settings. • Maintenance programs. • Functionality of the system or general fire alarm mechanism.

23. 9. Administrative Registries 9.2 Logs (electronic registries) • Behavior of the indicators of the work fronts. • Concentrations of detected gases and of the evaluation dates.

24. 9. Administrative Registries 9.2 Logs (electronic registries) • Revisions performed to the shores and the recommendations to rectify the found deficiencies. • Drilling works. • Information provided to workers.

25. 9. Administrative Registries 9.2 Logs (electronic registries) • Conditions of the mine after an incident occurred. • Results of the investigations of accidents and incidents occurred at the mines.

26. 9. Administrative Registries 9.3 Written Authorizations by the Employer • Entrance to the mine by shift after performing an inspection of recognition. • Operate and maintain machinery, locomotors, vehicles and authorized carts. • Use of explosives at the inside of the mine.

27. 9. Administrative Registries 9.3 Written Authorizations by the Employer • Usage batteries and diesel motors beyond the last air crossing. • Activities of warming, welding or cutting.

28. 10. Personal Protection Gear • Protection helmets. • Mining lamp with rechargeable battery lasting minimum 1.25 times the worker’s shift. • Lamp-carrying belt. • Rubber boots with pointer or protection shoes with pointer.

29. 10. Personal Protection Gear • Plugs or hearing shells. • Security glasses. • Gloves. • Breathers against particles. • Cotton work clothes or from materials which do not generate static electricity. • Self rescuer. Mininggear Flashlight Helmet Goggles Mouthpiece Self rescuer Gloves Methane meter Reinforced rubber boots

30. 11. Training • General induction on safety and health at work as well as on the risks they are exposed to. • Usage and replacement of the auto-rescuers in emergency situations, at least every six months. • Operate the motor vehicles.

31. 11. Training • Usage of the tools, machinery and work equipment. • Attending emergencies. • Transportation, usage and storage of explosives. • Maintenance of equipment and machinery at the work fronts.

32. 12. Medical Examinations • When entering (initial). • Periodical to workers exposed by occupation. • Thoracic studies. • Audiometric. • Breathing. • Specific, for members of brigades or teams.