Calling for better mine safety A close public/private
partnership produces an innovative emergency communications
system - By Doug Beizer - Jul 01, 2009 Communications technology
in many underground mines is primitive, consisting of phones and
handsets connected by wire. It works, but it's vulnerable. If an
accident severs the line, the system fails, and miners lose
contact with people above ground. If it's a dangerous accident,
one that leaves people trapped underground, the loss of
communications can be deadly. In the wake of multiple fatal
mining accidents, Congress passed a law in 2006 that requires
better communications and miner-tracking systems. But developing
new technology for tough underground conditions has been
demanding, particularly with the law’s tight three-year time
frame for fielding a system. “By government contract
perspectives, we had to move at light speed,” said David Snyder,
a senior mine electrical engineer at the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health’s Office of Mine