KUZBASS COMBATS UNDERGROUND FIRES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 295
• Publication Date: February 25, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6
P. Sudoplutov
I. Baranov
Prokop'yevsk-Kiselevek area, there enorDr. - ?:;oe coal of vari-
ous tynee are concentrated. ,More th?:n ._.. .:..nt 1 in the area occurs
refore.191;9, thick, steeply ri'nir.; it, the itr`_ 'e_e worked al-
toct c::clueive?ly frith collLpuine e , n ??-, tea: to considerable
of valuable coal in the rvorrG. u:.. e
'. nr.__;-roun:.i ;'ires. During
1 5:. 1952, za reorganization o_ the ;,:ini*,,- or:,,;; rol:r,'yevsk-;;iselevsk
are took place; systems o. minin; :ith n ce ro : r'eopped to 82
ter?cent in 1952, ?.hile the fort^r,i^n or c':.llin ro::c to 18 per-
cent. A:; a result 01' this coo . o: coal in the
nines of the refion dioppcti o ' . 6 'o L -lent in 1952,
and the number of underground Ce?r;.,~,
The nu^:bcr of undergroenr . ire., a r ye-. c i'ello:...
1' l' 5 1946 is
Ilunber of fires 19 25 1-
The above 1fata indicate thst. fro :^!.r t..:r?u;;h 1951 the nu._ber of fires de-
cre:tsec:; they started to rise c_ an In '. 52, in'ic::.tin'- siacl:ening in fire-
arceention effort:, during the ;;ast yc_; ..nJ: . 'a..l.
In addition to cases of spontaneou.; coatuz;tion, the spont!.nuous evolution of
heat in coal also occurs in this area ::nc oi',en hindr;?.: aininl; operations, as is
shorn in the fol.lo:inl- table:
Location o Occurrence:,
TF ,?t' Total
Including those :.ith
shutdown of raining
operation,-
Thus, in 1952 and !; month.: o' ^2 , :r !f ant of tke total
number of cases of treat evolution in ~ cti'.e in., ., an ht boat shutdown
of extraction operations. These in results
from shutdowns caused by spontaneous c naZ,r t.ion. :.?: o,, ...: elimin,tion of
operations on the working front, oc_u_ren, . th c:m_?.,.uert. ':-o-e, of coal output.
In both cases a new working; front n::J to i, p -_p . :._: ,, =ire-fithting or fire-
prevention measures had to be carried oat.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6
As is shown in the first table, 34 fires broke out during 1952 and 6 months
of 1953 in mines of the Prokop'yevsk-Kiselevsk area. These fires were distri-
buted as follows, according to working level:
Particip?~tion in Number of Fires for 1952 and 6 Months of 1953
Level Output (percent) Actual Number Percent. o Total
I 44.3 24
II 32.8 9
III 22.7 --
IV 0.2 1 3
Total 100.0 34 100.0
These data indicate that about 97 percent of the fires originated in the
two upper levels. This situation can be explained as follows: The upper levels
were worked mainly with collapsing of the side rock and with great losses of coal,
which was often located in concentrated masses. Insulation of the workings of
the upper levels from the lower levels and from the surface of the mine was, in a
number of cases, poor. If air seeps into the worked-out area, even in small
amounts, fire can be expected to break out. Air can penetrate the worked-out
area, through cracks and workings, both from the surface of the mine and from
workings located below the surface. In five cases, fires started in worked-out
mine fields of upper levels while extraction was in progress in lower levels,
and, in 1.3 cases, even in the absence of extraction in the lower levels.
In all cases of mine fires, exploitational losses of coal amounted to not
less than 15 percent and, usually, to more than 20 percent.
Methods of combating underground fires are: insulating the worked-out area
by walling off the workings, packing silt in the worked-out area, and filling in
gaps at the mine surface. Experiments have shown that packing the worked-out
area with silt is a very important factor in insulating the workings. Silting
operations are carried out on a large scale both for fire prevention and for ex-
tinguishing fires /-jilting operations differ from backfilling in that the silt
is a mud preparation designed to extinguish or discourage fires, while the back-
filling material is crushed rock which may be introduced dry or by hydraulic
means into the worked-out area,. mainly for roof control7.
In recent years about one million cubic meters of silt a year have been let
down into the worked-out area of the Kuzbass. Of this, 70-75 percent is used for
fire prevention and 25-30 percent for extinguishing fires. The technology of
operations in both cases is similar.
As a result of technical and organizational measures carried out tzt regulate
silting operations in the Prokop'yevsk-Kiselevsl: area in recent years, 't,e ex-
ploitation of si2t-input wells has greatly improved and productivity of t:. wells
has increa4ed. Luring 1951-1952, the volume of silt transmitted through one well
rose for the area from 287 to 345 cubic meters, more than double the 1948 volume.
During this same period, labor productivity for silting operations rose 55 percent,
and for input-well drilling, 3h percent. At the same time, the cost of these
operations decreased.
At present, individual input wells, drilled from the surface, serve for
carrying out the silting of worked-out areas. Such a method was complicated, even
in prewar years, when mining operations were carried on at a lesser depth then at
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6
present,. and the depth of' input "oils I'-)r the region did not eac~ed an average
of 4u -cers. Since that time the depth of operations has increased and, in
1952, the average depth of one silt-input well for the region reached 70 meters,
with some wells up to 200 meters deep, as indicated in the following table:
Depth of Well (meter:;) :lumber of Wells (percent)
Up to 30
31-50
51-100
101-150 12
151-200 3
Total 100
the depth of minicg operations increased, a check on the silting process,
carried out from the surface, became more difficult. There was decreased ac-
curacy in rer:chink a .pacific point, and conditions were created for irregular
.;iltin- of the worked-out. arrc. In drilling deep 'eL1.;, it became necessary, in
a number of cc.ses, to cut throu1rh worked-out and caved-in areas of upper seams,
which made drilling difficult and created the possibility of an accumulation of
silt in these areas.
Thic indicates that the method of transmitting silt 1c, :nines th_?ou;-h in-
dtviclual 'ells frequently fails to conform to chcnre? which have taken p1-cc in
mining operations, and a transition to underground silting is recuired. Lilting
through underground pipes has already been carried out in three mines of the
Prokop'yevesk-Kiselevsk area with encouraging results. Despite some difficulties,
such silting operations should be extended in the near future.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160295-6