Greater Chicago UIC Student Section
On April 14, 2009 the University of Illinois Chicago Student Section was granted their charter. This is a great day for the students and our Chapter. Through the diligent work of all involved we have added a monumental moment to our Chapter's history. The Greater Chicago Executive Committee wishes our students well and offer our guidance in your future endeavors.
UIC Students go underground to Explore Coal Mining
In March three University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS) students traveled to Kentucky to tour an active underground coal mine. The trip was sponsored by NIOSH Education and Research Centers (ERCs) from Cincinnati and Illinois. The purpose of the trip was to learn about and observe occupational safety and health hazards that exist in underground coal mining. The trip consisted of occupational safety, industrial hygiene, occupational nursing, occupational medicine, and engineering students.
The trip was coordinated by Bruce Taylor, Safety Director at the Dotiki Mine and Robert Gray of the District 10 MSHA office. The first day of the trip students visited the Warrior Coal prep plant which is capable of processing over 1400 tons of coal per hour. The prep plant washes the coal free from contaminating soils, improving the coal’s market value and decreasing transportation costs. The Warrior Coal prep facility uses over 70 million gallons of water daily, of which all but 1.5 million gallons is recycled. The plant is highly automated and controlled by computers that are supervised and managed by a single employee. The few other workers in the facility perform preventative maintenance tasks. After an orientation and safety training session students were guided through the prep plant by Plant Manager Brad Taliaferro.
On day two students visited the underground coal mine at Dotiki. General Manager Mark Evens and assistant Gary Thweatt welcomed students to the facility and discussed the type of mining done at Dotiki (room and pillar) and the importance of safety in coal mining. Safety training was lead by Dotiki’s safety coordinators in which they explained how to use self-contained self-rescuers (which can temporally provides breathable air), the purpose of emergency locator beacons (allows miners to be tracked at any time from above ground), where underground emergency refuge centers were located (safe rooms providing enough food, water, and breathable air for days as well as communication to above ground), and finally, how to use a lifeline system which was first used at the Dotiki Mine (an emergency line miners could follow to safety in event that visibility was restricted). Students were then suited up in Tyvek suits, hard hats, steel toe boots, eye protection, ear protection, self contained self rescuers, and lights for hard hats and headed for the elevator shaft.
After completing the 700+ feet elevator decent down into the mine students then traveled in small shuttle cars for approximately 45 minutes to the face of the mine - nearly 6 miles and 300 feet deeper than where they had entered. Mine employees explained and demonstrated how the actual mining process takes place at the face of the mine. The first step of the process was loosening the coal from the face using a continuous coal mining machine, while shuttle cars scoop up coal and transferred it away. This was the loudest, dustiest, and hottest part of the mine. After the coal is cleared roof bolters (the most labor intensive job in the mine) came in and drilled rods into the ceiling of the mine to help prevent the roof from caving in. The remaining coal on the ground was then scooped up and taken to the conveyer belt, which was our next stop. The conveyer belt from the face to above ground is over 22 miles long and takes coal over 2 hours to reach the surface. The last part of the tour was visiting the refuge chambers where miners could stay for days in case of an emergency. The rooms are stocked with clean air, water, and food for miners, and provide a means for communication to above ground.
The tour was a great experience and gave students a better understand of the occupational safety and health hazards that exist with underground coal mining. It also gave them a much greater appreciation of coal miners and the coal mining industry as a whole. The students were thankful to be able to meet with the men and women that work hard to provide the electricity that many of us take for granted on a daily basis, and were grateful for the assistance of the Dotiki Safety Coordinators and MSHA professionals.
Students and guides prior to heading down the mine shaft.
UIC Students Attend ASSE Future Safety Leaders Conference
In November, six University of Illinois-Chicago ASSE students attended ASSE’s 5th Annual Future Safety Leaders Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference designed exclusively for ASSE student members, helps students transition into full time safety, health, and environmental professionals. Some of the topics included real-life safety experiences, managing student sections, and plenty of opportunities for networking. The conference also provided great opportunity to introduce students to value of ASSE.
2009-2010 Student Section Officers
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| President | Anders Abelmann | asse.uic@gmail.com |
| Vice President | Matthew Hornyak | |
| Treasurer | Colin Krupczak | |
| Secretary | Elizabeth Contreras | |
| Student Advisor | Steven Lacey | |
| Student Section Liaison | Allen Borzych | aborzych@wowway.com |