Show VALUE OF GOOD MINE ventilation good mine ventilation enables a miner to work well in hot places declares dr R R sayers chief surgeon of the bureau of mines department dep artmen t of the interior in recently issued many mining companies have installed specially designed ventilating systems for the purpose of lowering temperatures one large mining company spent more than ahcan to sink a ventilating shaft and to buy ventilating equipment it has been reported that this installation stal lation pays for itself once every six months in savings and in bel ter iter I working conditions for the miners even though the composition of the air is normal if the temperature and humidity are abnormally high the miner cannot work as well and his health probably suffers observes dr sayers men who have heart disease and disease of the blood vessels cannot stand high temperatures well the bureau of mines found that where the temperature of the air is above 75 F and the relative humidity or moisture content is high the miner is more comfortable and can call work better if the air is moving if the air moves at the rate of feet per minute a miner is comfortable and can call work as ion long t as the temperature shown by a wet bulb thermometer is not above the same is true when the temperature is between 85 and 90 provided the air moves to feet per minute still air at a temperature of 90 to 95 is very oppressive but air of the same temperature is much less so when it is moving to feet per minute recent studies of the bureau of mines have shown ehlt miners can call be more comfortable and do much better work in air of high temperatures and if a small portable fan fail is used to make air movement this method however should be used only in emergencies or temporarily until a permanent ventilating system can be put in to replace hot humid air ditl cooler pure air and thus keep the harmful gases from collecting abnormally it cannot be said too strongly that working ability comfort and good health depend largely on pure air air low in oxygen causes the lungs to breathe deeper and faster and the heart to beat faster faster too little oxygen may cause unc unconsciousness consciousness and even death the flame of a safe safety ty lamp may be used to detect air containing too little oxygen too much carbon dioxide in air causes deeper and more rapid breathing headache dimness of sight and trembling the presence of carbon dioxide and the amount may be learned by a special portable apparatus made for this purpose nitrogen hydrogen and methane do not poison the body but may lessen the amount of oxygen and thus indirectly cause trouble the flame of a safety lamp or a burrell detector may be used to tell the presence of marsh gas methane enough hydrogen sulphide or sul sulphur p hur dioxide sometimes is is present in mine mine air to be danger dangerous bu s small abou amou amounts ants make the eyes and breathing passages smart the pr presence ot of hydrogen su sulphide alphide lp hide and sulphur dioxide usually can call be told by their odors carbon monoxide white damp has caused the death of many miners the presence of carbon mono monoxide 1 may be detected by its effect upon canary birds or by the use of a carbon monoxide detector |