Mine Explosion in West Virginia Possibly Linked to Lightning

 

There have been several news media reports suggesting that lightning may have been a factor in the recent mine explosion in West Virginia. One of these is from the Charleston Gazette, which reported that three lightning strikes hit within five miles of the Sago Mine within a half-hour of Monday morning’s deadly explosion, according to a federal government contractor that monitors thunderstorms.

Two of the strikes, including one that was four to 10 times stronger than average, hit within 1 1/2 miles of the center of the Upshur County mine, according to the contractor.

At the same time, company officials and accident investigators confirmed that they believe the explosion occurred in a sealed area of the operation.

The President of International Coal Group, the company that owns the mine, said rescue crews found that concrete seals on the abandoned mine area had been blown apart by the blast.

He said that a “very substantial explosive force” blew the seals in toward the working area of the mine.

Revelations about the blast location and the lightning strikes revived early reports that lightning could have triggered the worst West Virginia mining disaster in nearly 40 years.

Terry Farley, administrator for the state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training, said that previous underground explosions tied to lightning have occurred in areas that were mined out and sealed.

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Strong circumstantial evidence suggests that lightning has initiated methane explosions in abandoned and sealed areas of underground coal mines. The following is a link to a study attempts to answer the question: “Can lightning cause potential differences capable of igniting methane-and-air mixtures at overburden depths at which underground coal mining occurs?”

 

http://www.mikeholt.com/files/PDF/61_02.pdf