Changes

Methane is both a [[greenhouse gas]] and a contributor to background levels of [[ozone]]. Tropospheric ozone is a significant greenhouse gas and the primary constituent of photochemical [[smog]].<ref>[http://www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/2006/spot_methane.html "Linking climate and air pollution: Methane emission controls yield a double dividend"] NOAA, accessed November 2010.</ref>

In September 2008, ''The Independent'' newspaper reported how preliminary scientific findings suggested that massive deposits of sub-sea methane were bubbling to the surface as the Arctic region becomes warmer and its ice retreats. This [[methane time-bomb]] is seen as extremely worrying, because it could be a positive feedback mechanism, where the more the Arctic melts the more methane is released, which could put us on the path to runaway [[global warming]].<ref> Steve Connor, [http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-the-methane-time-bomb-938932.html "Exclusive: The methane time bomb"], ''The Independent'', September 23, 2008 </ref>

Coal mining accounts for about 10 percent of US releases of methane.<ref name="EPA Methane">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ,[http://www.epa.gov/methane/sources.html "Methane: sources and emissions,"] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website, October 20th, 2006.</ref> It is the fourth largest source of methane, following landfills, natural gas systems, and enteric fermentation.<ref name="EPA Methane"/>

* '''Abandoned Mines:''' Methane emissions from abandoned mines are not quantified and included in U.S. inventory estimates, but may be significant.

[[Coalbed methane]] (CBM), also known as coal seam gas (abbreviated "CSG"), is a type of [[natural gas]] extracted from coal beds. It is formed by the geological process of heating and compressing plant matter to create coal. Over millions of years, methane forms within the coal. The methane is trapped by water in the gaps and cracks between the coal molecules. These gaps are known as cleats. [[Coal seam gas projects in Australia|Australia]] has been found to have many deposits, and is increasingly mining them through [[hydraulic fracturing]], also known as [[fracking]]. In recent decades, CBM has become an increasingly used source of energy in Australia, as well as the United States, Canada, and other countries.<ref name="bg">{{cite web|url=http://www.bg-group.com/Careers/graduates/howtoapply/Pages/JargonBuster.aspx|title=Jargon Buster|publisher=BG Group|accessdate=18 July 2010}}</ref>

When coal is mined, fissures and pores in the coal bed in which methane is lying are exposed, releasing methane into the confined area. This can be dangerous because methane is not only highly flammable, with the potential to violently explode in a ball of flame, but is also an asphyxiant, capable of driving out oxygen and causing death by suffocation. A build up of hazardous gas in a mine is known as a damp, with methane build-ups called “fire damps”. Carbon monoxide accumulation, called “white damp,” adds to these dangers. When methane combusts, this highly toxic and flammable gas is generated as a by-product and spreads through a mine’s tunnels and shafts. [[Coal dust]] also reacts badly to a methane explosion. As part of a violent chain reaction, it can burst into flames in a series of secondary explosions throughout a mine.<ref name="mgd">[http://www.methanegasdetectors.com/info/coal-mining-and-the-risk-of-methane-gas-explosions/ "Coal Mining and The Risk Of Methane Gas Explosions"] Methanegasdetectors.com, accessed September 2010.</ref>

The 1907 [[Monongah Mine Disaster]] of [[West Virginia]], which claimed the lives of 362 men and boys and is known as the worst mining disaster in American History,<ref>[http://www.msha.gov/MSHAINFO/FactSheets/MSHAFCT8.HTM Historical Data on Mine Disasters in the United States], U.S. Department of Labor website, accessed November 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/discoal.htm Coal Mining Disasters], National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, accessed November 2009.</ref> is thought to have been caused by the ignition of methane, which in turn ignited highly flammable [[coal dust]].<ref name="monogah">[http://www.boisestate.edu/history/ncasner/hy210/mining.htm "Monongah Mining Disaster"] Boise State Website, accessed November 2009</ref>

In July 2010, an electrician at the [[Upper Big Branch Mine]], site of the [[Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster]] in April 2010, confirmed that he was ordered to bypass the methane detector on a piece of mining equipment. Such detectors are designed to automatically turn off a machine once methane reaches a certain level; with the detector bypassed, the machine would continue operating regardless of methane levels. The detector was on a continuous mining machine four miles from the origins of the explosion and was not thought to have played a role in the explosion. Investigators, however, are now looking to see if the practice of bypassing the detectors had happened in other areas of the mine, something that could point to wider questions about safety practices at the mine. Micah Ragland, spokesman for Massey Energy, confirmed that someone had bridged the methane monitor.<ref name="dr">Dennis B. Roddy and Daniel Malloy, [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10196/1072880-84.stm#ixzz0tmeQ0Bzh "Detector bypassed before W.Va. coal disaster"] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 15, 2010.</ref>

Federal investigators first learned of the monitor bridging from Ricky Lee Campbell, a former Upper Big Branch miner who was fired from his job at another Massey mine after he publicly criticized safety practices at Upper Big Branch. Massey lawyers said Mr. Campbell was fired for violating a safety rule at the company's Marfork Coal Co., but in June 2010, Department of Labor officials won temporary reinstatement of Mr. Campbell after an administrative law judge ruled that he had actually been fired in retaliation for speaking out. According to Campbell, he and two other miners at Upper Big Branch saw a supervisor instruct Mr. Holtzapfel to run a wire that would bypass a methane detector on a continuous mining machine on Feb. 13 -- seven weeks before the blast. Campbell said Holtzapfel had protested the order, calling it improper, but was forced to make the bridge. When told of Mr. Campbell's account, Mr. Holtzapfel said, "That's how it went."<ref name="dr"/>

==Resources==