Blackdamp
Blackdamp (also known as stythe or choke damp) is an
Etymology
The meaning of "damp" in this term, while most commonly understood to imply humidity, presents evidence of having been separated from that newer, irrelevant meaning at least by the first decade of the 18th century, where the original relevant meaning of "vapor" derives from a Proto-Germanic origin, dampaz, which gave rise to its immediate English predecessor, the Middle Low German damp (with no record of an Old English intermediary). The proto-Germanic dampaz gave rise to many other cognates, including the Old High German damph, the Old Norse dampi, and the modern German Dampf, the last of which still translates as "vapor".[1]
Sources
Blackdamp is encountered in enclosed environments such as mines, sewers, wells, tunnels and ships' holds. It occurs with particular frequency in abandoned or poorly ventilated
Hazards
Blackdamp is considered a particularly pernicious type of
In addition to the danger inside the mine, blackdamp can be "exhaled" in large quantities from mines (especially long-abandoned coal mines with few outlets for escaping gas) during sudden changes in atmospheric pressure, potentially causing asphyxiation on the surface.[2]
Disasters
The gas mixture has been responsible for many deaths among underground workers, especially miners—for example, the Hartley Colliery disaster, when 204 men and boys were trapped when the beam of an engine suddenly broke and fell down the single shaft, damaging the ventilation system and blocking it with debris. Despite rescuers' efforts, they could not be reached before they suffocated in the blackdamp atmosphere.
Detection and countermeasures
Historically, the domestic canary was used as an early warning against carbon monoxide.
In active mining operations, the threat from blackdamp is addressed with proper mineshaft ventilation as well as various detection methods, typically using
See also
References
- ^ Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of fire-damp. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved January 6, 2022, from this link Archived 2022-01-10 at the Wayback Machine.
- PMID 1392998.
- JS Haldane and JG Priestley, Respiration, Oxford University Press, 2nd ed. (1935)