2M COALFIELDS AND COLLIERIES OF AUSTRALIA. 



quantity of carbon monoxide, which is the deadly constituent 

 of afterdamp, and caused the death of most of the victims. 



Not only had firedamp been found generally in this col- 

 liery, but at the Bull! colliery, a few miles away, working 

 the same seam, a somewhat similar disaster had previously 

 taken place. The mine was dry and dusty, but there were no 

 proper watering appliances for laying the dust. The dust& 

 of different coals vary in the degree with which they ignite, 

 and the force of the resulting explosion. That of Mount 

 Kembla had a relatively high explosive force, and according to 

 the tests made at the Home Office Testing Station, AVoolwich, 

 in 1901, the dust was described as "violent explosion" on 

 each occasion. Still, in spite of this, naked lights were 

 used in the mine, and the ventilation was actuated by a 

 furnace at the bottom of the 400ft. deep upcast shaft. For- 

 tunately, this furnace was not damaged, so as soon as the 

 blast had exhausted itself, the ventilation currents returned 

 for the most part to their usual channels, except where the 

 roads were blocked by falls of roof, and as each tunnel was an 

 intake, the rescue parties were able to follow up as the after- 

 damp was drawn to the upcast. The deadly afterdamp, as is 

 usual in most colliery explosions, accounted for most of the 

 deaths. This insidious gas has its danger intensified, inas- 

 much as it cannot be seen or readily smelt or tasted, neither 

 does it extinguish a burning light like carbon dioxide, for it 

 is combustible. It is an accumulative poison, as little as- 

 half to one per cent, proving fatal. It has a greater avidity 

 for the haemoglobin of the blood than oxygen, and, by com- 

 bining with it, forms a bright red compound, known as carboxy- 

 htemoglobin, which gives to a corpse a life-like healthy appear- 

 ance. When the blood fakes up about 50 per cent, of 

 saturation a man begins to lose power over his limbs, at 79 

 per cent, he dies. The process of recoverv from carbon 

 monoxide poisoning is very slow and painful, and a patient 

 may die several days after having inhaled it. When enter- 

 ing a mine after an explosion, rescue parties should carry 

 cages containing white mice. Any small warm-blooded 

 animal would do, but white mice are easily tamed, 

 handled and seen. Carbon monoxide reacts on a mouse 

 twenty times more rapidly than on a man, as its heart 

 beats so much quicker. As afterdamp is lighter than the 

 ordinary atmosphere, the cage containing the mouse should be 

 held above the head. When the mouse shows symptoms of 

 being poisoned, the men have time to escape. Ventilation by 

 furnace is not so efficient, for the amount of fuel consumed, as 

 bv fan ; neither is it so regular, as the coal is fed intermittently. 

 There is, besides, always the element of danger when using 

 furnaces in a colliery where firedamp is given off, though the 

 risk may be reduced by taking air for combustion from the in- 



