Mining Product: Make it Safer with Roof Screen
Original creation date: March 2005
This 7-minute video with instructional material shows how well roof screen keeps loose rock from falling in difficult roof conditions.
Coal miners, especially roof bolter and continuous miner operators, work in a hazardous underground environment where they are often exposed to poor roof conditions. Nearly 500 rock fall injuries are reported each year, and 99% of them are caused by rocks falling from between the roof bolts. These loose rocks that injure miners are usually just a few inches thick, but on average weigh 280 pounds.
NIOSH has found that most rock fall injuries can be prevented by installing roof screen during the bolting cycle. Roof screen is a sheet made of steel wires in a grid pattern. When screen is bolted up against the mine roof, it provides far more coverage than any common surface control used in the mines today. Because more mine roof is covered, there is less chance that a rock will fall and injure a miner.
The facts about roof screen are shown in this video. Using extensive underground footage, the 7-minute video shows how well screen keeps loose rock from falling in difficult roof conditions. Techniques for installing screen from both outside-controlled and walk-thru roof bolting machines are shown. The video also provides safe handling tips, best practices, and information about machine technology that can greatly improve material handling. An instructional booklet supplements the video with additional information.
Additional Materials:
For more information contact the NIOSH Office of Mine Safety and Health Research at OMSHR@cdc.gov.
Authors: SB Robertson, C Mark
Audience: Underground miners
Video - March 2005
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 20026136
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2005 Mar; :1-15
This video can be streamed from YouTube or a ZIP file containing a WMV file and a SRT closed caption file can be downloaded for local playback when streaming is not feasible. To use the ZIP file, download it to your computer and expand the contents into a folder of your choice. The SRT caption file will provide closed captions when using a compatible media player.
See Also
- Best Practices and Bolting Machine Innovations for Roof Screening
- Building Capacity and Enhancing Ground Control Safety through Improvement and Extension of the LaModel Program
- External L5-S1 Joint Moments When Lifting Wire Mesh Screen Used to Prevent Rock Falls in Underground Mines
- Load Capacity and Stiffness Characteristics of Screen Materials Used for Surface Control in Underground Coal Mines
- Musculoskeletal Stress on Miners Performing Roof Screening Operations
- Performance Characteristics for Welded Wire Screen Used for Surface Control in Underground Coal Mines
- Potential of Roof Screening to Reduce Workers’ Compensation Cost
- Reduced Workers’ Compensation Costs With Roof Screening
- Roof Screening: Best Practices and Roof Bolting Machines
- Technology News 508 - NIOSH Releases New Safety Video: Make It Safer With Roof Screen
- Page last reviewed: 10/22/2016
- Page last updated: 9/20/2012
- Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program