North Goonyella Exclusion Zone. Insanity of locating Control Room, Gas Monitoring Equipment, Administration Building, Workshops right beside the Mine Portals.

I have made previous posts about Exclusion Zones.

First in relation to the coal Mines themselves and also surrounding residential communities such as Moranbah.

It is never stated what size the Exclusion Zone was at North Goonyella. Rumor has it was officially 2.5 or 3km, though what was used was access points to the lease on public roads.

If a similar situation occurred at Moranbah Nth, Grosvenor and the Proposed Moranbah South where would the exclusion zone end in Moranbah?

North Goonyella has yet again displayed the absolute insanity of having the Mine Offices, Control Room, Gas Monitoring Equipment, Mines Rescue Sub-Station etc. being located in the immediate vicinity of the drifts and shafts of the Mine.

Again this matter was addressed by the Moura No 2 Inquiry.

The Inquiry recognises that layout of mine entries relative to surface installations could impede or prevent emergency procedures in the aftermath of a disaster. Layouts for new mines should take this potential into account and be subject to the approval of the Chief Inspector of Coal Mines.

Moura No 2 Mining Warden Inquiry Findings page 63.

As the Grosvenor events in May, June 2010 demonstrate the risk of methane explosions and subsequent spontaneous combustion event and sealing are very real, and not just confined to North Goonyella.

It may be wonderful for the administration buildings being able to just peer out the window and watch coal pour off the conveyor belt, or watch real coal miners enter and exit the mine.

In a fire/potential explosion situation it is entirely self defeating.

Note that the Control Room and Gas Monitoring Equipment have to be re-located and Exclusion Zones set up around the Tunnel Mouth. Broadmeadow Mine has to be drafted in to run gas bag sampling because of the need to move the Control Room and Gas Monitoring from its current location about 50m from the M and M Drift.

MRE – North Goonyella – 24.09.2018.pdf

1 1 Implement controls as per identified in item #10 such as barricade boreholes, barricade and lock surface infrastructure (exclusion zones), relocate GC and Control Room, arrange for Broadmeadow to run bag samples