Behind the Diaoshuidong mine disaster: low-level mistakes and small coal mines
China News Weekly reporter/Su Jiede
Published in the 977th issue of China News Weekly on December 21, 2020
At 1 o'clock noon on December 4, coal mine gas detection worker Qi Ming walked out of the Diaoshuidong coal mine in Yongchuan District, Chongqing City, and took a deep breath of fresh air. He signaled to the handover gas detection worker that "all underneath is normal."
What the two did not expect was that this routine handover outside the mine would be a farewell.
The picture shows the rescue vehicle entering the incident site for rescue.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Chao
The coal mines in Chongqing belong to high-gas mines. Gas is a gas mainly composed of methane, which can be mined and processed into household gas.
But in the mine, gas is flammable and explosive, and it is a veritable killer.
Each mine needs to be equipped with a gas detector, if the gas concentration exceeds the standard, he will warn to stop the operation.
"There are five gas monitoring workers arranged in the mine, but there may be only four people actually working, two in the morning shift, one in the middle shift, and one in the evening shift. The other one does not know where they are going." Qi Ming told China News Weekly "When the shift was handed over, only one inspector was found to connect with him. "Although I felt something was wrong, the mine had already stopped production at that time. Everyone felt that there was no need to comply with the previous regulations so strictly." Qi Ming discovered that the equipment for 20 days During the disassembly process, there are too many safety holes, which can easily lead to mining accidents.
Qi Ming learned afterwards that he had passed by with Death.
On the evening of the 4th, this coal mine, which had been shut down for more than two months, was dismantled by the company's underground equipment, and a carbon monoxide overrun accident occurred. 24 people were trapped underground.
On the evening of the 5th, the rescue work was basically over. Among them, 23 people were killed and one person was sent to a doctor for treatment.
According to Xinhua News Agency, after investigation by relevant departments, the coal mine sold underground electromechanical equipment, cables, pipelines, and rails to a recycling company in Chongqing at a discount of 2.86 million yuan.
The recycling company organized 19 people to go down for recycling, and 5 people from Diaoshuidong coal mine to cooperate.
At about 16:48 on December 4, the company illegally engaged in fire operations in the main sump area downhole, quickly igniting a large amount of oil (gas) floating in the main sump, producing a large amount of toxic and harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and dense smoke, forming a fire. Wind pressure.
When nearby villagers could see thick smoke from a distance, the accident had already occurred.
The distance to death
According to Qi Ming, the Diaoshuidong coal mine has a deep length. Workers need to take a cable car to go down the shaft. They first go through a slope, then a horizontal passage, and then a slope. The total length exceeds 1,500 meters.
The main inclined shaft of the mine is lifted and transported by the mine explosion-proof winch, and the horizontal transport is transported by the explosion-proof locomotive.
It takes nearly twenty minutes to get back to the ground by car from the bottom of the well.
On the day of the accident, Qi Ming went to the morning shift, went to the mine at 7 o'clock in the morning, and went out of the well at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.
A worker who succeeded him in the afternoon shift was killed. According to his memory, the workers who were killed at the same time were also the production mine leader, team leader, electrician and others.
Except for the workers, most of the others were dismantling equipment personnel who Qi Ming didn't know. Curiously, he even asked these people how much they earn per day, "They told me that it was more than 300 yuan a day. For this little money, I didn't expect my life to be lost."
Different from dismantling equipment in three shifts, morning, middle and evening, there is only one miner who is responsible for controlling the transportation of mine carts. There are two groups of people, each controlling a mine cart on a slope.
A transport worker told China News Weekly that they could leave work at 16:00. When he took a shower, the time showed that it was about 16:30. When another group came out of the mine, it was between 16:50 and 17: 00.
According to the aforementioned transport worker, about 7 people on the night shift went down at around 17:00. They saw heavy smoke as soon as they entered, and when they saw the situation was not good, they withdrew back and passed by the god of death.
"After the mine is closed, no one is allowed to go down without authorization. The practice of the Diaoshuidong coal mine is obviously illegal." Wang Yang, a senior researcher in the Chongqing coal industry, told China News Weekly.
Diaoshuidong Coal Mine is located at the foot of Chashan Zhuhai National Forest Park, about two kilometers away from the filming location of Zhang Yimou's film "Ambush on Ten Sides".
The coal mine was built in 1975. Due to poor management, it was transformed into a private enterprise. In 2012, the approved annual production capacity was changed from 90,000 tons to 120,000 tons. Most of the employees are villagers in nearby Anxi Village.
On August 16 this year, the coal mine's mining license expired and was listed as a closed object.
Diaoshuidong Coal Mine is based on the main mine tunnel. A mine with a diameter of about 2.5 meters and a length of hundreds of meters extends out like a branch.
Before mining coal, it is necessary to lay basic equipment such as steel rails and ventilation pipes from the outside to the inside.
After the coal mine stopped production, the sequence of equipment disassembly was reversed.
According to Qi Ming, the two mines were being demolished at the same time, which lasted for nearly 20 days.
When he got out of the well in the morning shift, the equipment disassembly process in the mine was nearing completion, and the most important thing left was the electromechanical room between the main channel and the branch road.
The floor of the electromechanical room is reinforced by cement. Below the cement floor is a sump, where the water seeping out from the coal mine flows into it.
In fact, it is not only water that flows into the sump, but also oil and other substances. They float on the water and accumulate for a long time. If they are not cleaned up in time, they will become a safety hazard.
The official notification mentioned that illegal fire operations in the main sump area ignited a large amount of oil (gas) floating in the main sump.
Due to the suspension of production and disassembly, pumping and other facilities cannot operate normally, which has also increased the difficulty of subsequent rescue.
Tang Yongsheng, head of the Chongqing Nantong Mine Rescue Brigade, who participated in the search and rescue, said in an interview with the media that because the Diaoshuidong coal mine had ceased production more than two months ago, the underground drainage system is no longer functional, and the water is poured upwards, which was once searched and rescued. Work brings great difficulties.
After the oil and gas are burned, a large amount of deadly carbon monoxide is produced.
Coal mine safety regulations stipulate that the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air in coal mines cannot exceed 24PPM.
According to media reports, the concentration of carbon monoxide in the Diaoshuidong coal mine was as high as 1700PPM at the time of the accident.
Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It is easily combined with hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin, which makes hemoglobin lose its ability and role of carrying oxygen, causing suffocation of human tissues and death in severe cases.
On the day of the accident, the State Council Safety Committee decided to supervise the Yongchuan coal mine accident.
After more than 30 hours of full search and rescue, 1 person was rescued and 23 people were killed.
Previously, on September 27, a fire broke out in Chongqing’s state-run Songzao coal mine, killing 16 people.
In more than two months, two major coal mine safety accidents occurred one after another in Chongqing, with heavy casualties. The person in charge of the Chongqing Municipal Government was interviewed by the Office of the Work Safety Committee of the State Council on the afternoon of December 6.
The interview pointed out that Chongqing should effectively learn from the accident and learn from one another... Comprehensive and in-depth investigation of coal mine safety production, continue to deepen the three-year special rectification action, and ensure that the hidden dangers of accidents are fundamentally eliminated.
The cause of the accident was “really very low-level.” Li Haowen, the Safety Production Supervisor of the Emergency Management Department, stated in CCTV's "News 1+1" link: First of all, the laws, regulations and local regulations are obvious. If they can be followed, there will be no accidents. , Let alone such a big accident.
In addition, the low level also reflects the seriousness of its (coal mine accident) problem, not because the low level is not serious, but it further illustrates the seriousness of the problem.
Some local regulatory agencies have neglied in this process.
An practitioner who has worked in a state-owned coal mine in Chongqing for more than 20 years told China News Weekly that from the perspective of division of labor, the local emergency management bureau is responsible for coal mine supervision, the coal supervision bureau is responsible for supervision, and the energy bureau is responsible for planning. Some departments are obviously not doing well. This job.
In addition, there has been no feasibility standard for how to dispose of underground equipment after the mine exits.
Previously, Chongqing adopted methods such as sealing the ore with stones and setting up garrisons to prohibit the removal of equipment from the mine.
Many industry insiders interviewed by "China News Weekly" believe that after coal mines are closed, investors need to buy and sell equipment to reduce losses.
"The oil produced by these equipment will pollute the groundwater. Preventing demolition is not a solution." Wang Yang believes that "the state prohibits unauthorized demolition, and the local level can introduce institutional measures to point out the path for coal mines that need demolition equipment. Supervision. If there is a demolition plan and the supervision department is in place, it may be possible to avoid such accidents."
The Game of Interests in Small Coal Mines
"It looks very young. It should be born in the 1980s. At a coal mine symposium in May this year, he mentioned that Diaoshuidong coal mine should be closed." Wang Yang met Diaoshuidong coal mine many times at meetings in the coal industry. Liu Guangquan, the person in charge.
According to the villagers, Liu Guangquan is the third boss of the coal mine, and he has the shortest tenure in office. He does not have strong professional skills in coal mines.
Although the prospecting right expires this year, from the perspective of reserves, the Diaoshuidong coal mine can still be mined.
According to the coal resource reserves verification report compiled by Chongqing Shengzhi Mineral Geological Prospecting Co., Ltd., as of the end of April this year, the coal reserves in the Diaoshuidong coal mine area had a total of 1.792 million tons of proven, controlled and inferred coal resources.
The reason why it is closed this year and it is difficult to renew mining is related to the location of the coal mine.
The mining area of Diaoshuidong coal mine overlaps with the scope of Chongqing Chashan Zhuhai National Forest Park.
In 2003, Chashan Zhuhai was approved as a national forest park by the former State Forestry Administration.
As the country pays more and more attention to the ecological environment, solving the problem of reasonable withdrawal of mining rights in nature reserves according to laws and regulations has been gradually put on the agenda.
According to relevant regulations, a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body shall be established. By 2020, the approval of the limits of the national natural reserves and the demarcation mark will be completed.
Within the protected area, mining rights shall be withdrawn in accordance with laws and regulations.
In order to continue mining, Diaoshuidong Coal Mine has also taken many measures.
In 2018, when the validity period of the mining license expired, the local government adjusted and narrowed the scope of the original mining area, and adjusted part of the mined area out of the mining area to avoid the ecological red line.
However, the problem of overlapping scopes has never been resolved.
When Liu Guangquan expressed the idea of closing coal mines in the first half of this year, the local government was running to keep the coal mines.
In March of this year, two CPPCC members of Yongchuan District, including Wu Zhiyong, director of the Chashan Zhuhai Sub-district Office, proposed that three coal mines, including Diaoshuidong, should be allocated additional resources after technological transformation and expansion.
For the Diaoshuidong coal mine, the key to solving the problem is to be able to adjust the scope of the mining area and exit the forest park.
The Yongchuan District Planning and Natural Resources Bureau replied to Wu Zhiyong: “After the overlap is eliminated, the Chongqing Municipal Government and the Municipal Energy Bureau can pass requests for technological transformation and expansion, and the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau can also agree to the extension and extension of mining rights. Resources."
In order to solve the problem of overlapping areas, Yongchuan District has repeatedly sought to retain coal mines from Chongqing Municipality.
The Yongchuan District Planning and Natural Resources Bureau stated that it cooperated with the District Energy Bureau and submitted written opinions to the Chongqing Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau on behalf of the district government, suggesting that three coal mines be retained and additional resources allocated.
Since then, the Chongqing Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau issued a reply to the People's Government of Yongchuan District, saying that if the three coal mines are to be retained, the overlap between the forest park and the mining area must be transferred, and if it cannot be transferred, an exit plan will be formulated.
When anxious, things turned around.
In August, the 205 Geological Team of the Chongqing Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development compiled the "Diaoshuidong Coal Mine Geological Environmental Protection and Land Reclamation Plan", which is one of the elements for the continuation of the mining right.
According to the plan, on July 7, the People’s Government of Yongchuan District reported to the Office of the Chongqing Municipal Work Safety Commission with the “Report of the People’s Government of Yongchuan District, Chongqing City on the Disposal of 3 Coal Mines in the Chashan Zhuhai National Forest Park and the Support Matters”. Disposal opinions of 3 coal mines including Shuidong: Under the premise of implementing the concept of limited ecological and green development, the opinions of coal mines shall be fully sought, and the rationality of the coal mines shall be considered in an overall plan. The three coal mines including Diaoshuidong shall be withdrawn in an orderly manner and the time limit for withdrawing from closure It is December 31, 2025.
The above plan also shows that the Chongqing Municipal Work Safety Commission Office agreed to the disposal plan and sent a letter to the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources and the Municipal Energy Bureau with the "Letter on Handling Issues Concerning Three Coal Mines in Chashan Zhuhai National Forest Park, Yongchuan District" And Chongqing Coal Supervision Bureau.
Last year, the Chongqing Municipal Government Work Safety Committee was renamed Chongqing Work Safety Committee, with 9 special safety offices under it.
The chief leaders of Chongqing Municipality serve as the director of the Municipal Safety Committee, and the chief person in charge of the Emergency Management Bureau serves as the director of the office.
According to Credit China, a corporate credit website sponsored by the National Development and Reform Commission and others, on September 15, the Chongqing Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau agreed to the renewal registration of the mining rights of the Diaoshuidong Coal Mine. The license is valid from September 15 this year. August 15th of the following year.
Although the local government is trying to protect the coal mine, business owners do not want to continue mining.
The mining rights continued, but other documents were not handled smoothly.
On November 28, the company's safety production license was cancelled.
In mid-November, the mine also started equipment disassembly work.
From the perspective of coal mine operations, its performance is not satisfactory. In recent years, the output and production capacity have not matched, due to the company's own reasons, and there are also factors such as insufficient production days.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources' National Mining Rights Owners' Exploration and Mining Information Publicity System, the actual coal output of Diaoshuidong Coal Mine in 2016, 2017 and 2018 was 110,000 tons, 40,000 tons and 70,000 tons, respectively.
In 2016 and 2017, coal mine sales were 28.364 million yuan and 18.26 million yuan respectively.
A total of 130 days of production in 2017.
To make matters worse, after the Chongqing Songzao Coal Mine disaster in September this year, the city's coal mines ceased production.
Before the Diaoshuidong mine disaster occurred, only a few eligible coal mines resumed production.
A person from the Chongqing coal industry told China News Weekly that of the nearly 40 coal mines in the city, less than 10 have resumed production. After the Diaoshuigou mine disaster, all coal mines in the city have been suspended again. The date of resumption of production is still unknown.
In addition, although the five-year mining period has been strived for, a large amount of funds will be invested in the ecological environment of coal mines in the future.
According to the coal mine geological environmental protection and land reclamation plan, Diaoshuidong Coal Mine will invest 3.85 million yuan in restoration funds in the next four years.
Crossroads of Chongqing Coal Industry
Chongqing coal mines are special, with thin coal seams and many faults. Some coal seams are only tens of centimeters thick, which is in sharp contrast with large coal mines in the north.
In addition, Chongqing coal mines suffer from three major disasters: water, fire and gas.
Small coal mines and big risks are typical characteristics.
Over the years, people have been arguing about the fate of Chongqing coal mines, and the local government has repeatedly taken severe measures to close thousands of small coal mines.
According to local official media, Chongqing closed and exited 344 coal mines in 2016 alone, involving a production capacity of 20.84 million tons; in 2017, it closed and exited 10 coal mines, involving a production capacity of 2.64 million tons.
A total of 354 coal mines were closed in two years, involving a production capacity of 23.48 million tons. One year in advance, the country exceeded the three-year goal of reducing coal production capacity in Chongqing (23 million tons).
Small coal mines with a production capacity of 90,000 tons or less in Chongqing have all been closed and withdrawn.
However, coal mine disasters still occur from time to time.
Take the Diaoshuidong coal mine as an example. In 2012, a roof accident occurred in the Diaoshuidong coal mine, resulting in one death.
In March 2013, a hydrogen sulfide gas poisoning accident occurred during water exploration and drilling at the Diaoshuidong Coal Mine, resulting in 3 deaths and 2 injuries.
A more serious mining disaster occurred this year.
Generally speaking, the national coal mine disaster rate is declining.
According to data from the Chongqing Coal Industry Association, there were 170 fatalities in coal mines nationwide last year, with 316 deaths, a decrease of 24.1% and 5.1% respectively; after the death rate per million tons fell to 0.1 for the first time in 2018, it dropped to 0.083 last year.
Practitioners in the Chongqing coal industry also introduced that the number of coal mine disasters and deaths in Chongqing has also dropped significantly.
However, compared with the downward trend, people's perception of the decline in coal mine accidents is not obvious, and sometimes they feel serious.
Lin Boqiang, dean of the China Energy Policy Research Institute of Xiamen University, believes that as the end of the year is approaching, companies have a strong willingness to rush to schedule, catch up on schedule, and increase profits. In addition, the increase in low temperature, rain, snow and severe weather makes the safety production situation severe and complex.
"There are too many coal mines in China, the base number is too large, and the number of mine disasters will also be large. Large-scale coal mines usually have more safety inputs, and small-scale coal mines usually have less. The result of two characteristics is that small coal mines have troubles. The probability is greater than that of large coal mines.” Lin Boqiang told China News Weekly, “The probability of accidents in small coal mines is relatively high, and it also puts greater pressure on local governments. From an environmental perspective, local governments may feel it necessary to take this opportunity to It’s closed, otherwise you will risk it if you keep it."
However, coal mines are not closed all at once, and there are still many deep-seated problems to be solved urgently.
"Policy changes are relatively rapid and unstable. In the past 10 years, coal mine closure standards have been upgraded from 30,000 tons to 60,000, 90, 150, and 300,000 tons. A coal mine investment cycle has started in three years. Many coal mines have just started. After the capacity expansion is completed, it is necessary to continue to expand production. Some coal mine owners often fail to recover their principal due to the rapid closure of the coal mine and suffer serious losses." Wang Yang said that he has seen many people go to other provinces or abroad to hide their debts with their families.
"If there is a clearer threshold for the shutdown limit, many investors will carefully weigh whether to invest." Wang Yang said that in the past few years, when Chongqing increased its coal mine closure efforts, the average financial support for each coal mine was more than 6 million. Yuan is used to deal with workers’ pension insurance, disability and other issues, which is not a small burden for districts and counties.
The closure of local coal mines also directly affects power plants downstream of the industrial chain.
Liu Ning, who once served as a middle and high-level coal mine in a state-owned coal mine in Chongqing, introduced that in previous years, the Chongqing Anwen Power Plant, built at the mouth of the Songzao Coal Mine, had low transportation costs and became one of the few profitable companies among the top ten power plants in Chongqing.
Today, the power plant purchases coal from other provinces, and the daily increase in cost is more than 5 million yuan. "The way of transporting coal from outside can not guarantee the demand of the top ten power plants during the peak annual electricity consumption."
In terms of people’s livelihood, Liu Ning said, “Chongqing coal mines employ more than 20,000 people. Workers who stop production at home have a monthly salary of more than 600 yuan, which is not enough to deduct the five insurances and one housing fund. They are often the backbone of a family. In addition, the upstream and downstream impacts of the shutdown The scope of the industry is even broader. Take Yongchuan as an example. For the large amount of coal gangue produced by coal mines, many brick-making companies have built factories nearby to use coal gangue to produce hollow bricks. If coal mines do not exist, these brick factories will not survive." If it doesn't exist, Mao will be attached." Liu Ning said helplessly.
Lin Boqiang believes that the closure of small coal mines is a trend, and the key to the problem is how to balance risks and benefits. "The benefit of a one-size-fits-all closure method is that it can be effective in a short time. But in reality, the problem may not be that simple. If these small coal mines can create benefits The method of blocking can only work for a while. After the limelight passes, people will still take risks. If local governments want to close small coal mines, they must solve the problem of the transformation of the entire coal industry. It cannot be left alone, otherwise it will easily lead to a big society. problem."
China News Weekly, Issue 47, 2020
Statement: The publication of "China News Weekly" manuscript is authorized in writing