Of all the problems that can occur in a mine, underground fire is the worst with the greatest loss of life and financial impact. Fires in coal mines quickly use up available oxygen leading to the death of any underground workers whilst the smoke, inexhaustible fuel supply and inaccessibility makes rescue and control extremely difficult. Mine fires can burn for years with huge financial loss. In tunnels the problems are mainly the difficulty of rescue due to smoke and the poisonous emissions from the fire, coupled with a lack of certainty over the exact location of the fire. During the fire in the Channel Tunnel (2008) rescuers were unable to advise trapped passengers of the best escape routes because they could not locate the source of the fire. Research into fire detection systems has concentrated on developing individual technologies to detect a particular physical consequence of fire such as the heat or smoke. By the time a fire has developed sufficiently to generate such detectable characteristics it is normally too late. Even with latest detection technologies most mine fires are first detected by the miner’s sense of smell. Trolex has devised an innovative and radically different approach to fire detection and control by attempting to analyse and detect “Pre-Fire” conditions. The aim of this Project is to develop a system that is able to detect the characteristics of a developing fire before combustion itself has begun, long before conventional systems can start to work. A fire does not ignite spontaneously, there is always a pre-cursor, a cause, but what this cause is and the characteristics that it exhibits, varies from fire to fire. The ability to detect a fire from its precursors provides crucial additional time for the mine staff with an additional advance being the ability to be able to locate the source of a fire quickly and accurately. The “Fire Sentry” Project will transform both the health and safety and economics of Mining.

Despite the high public profile and controversy surrounding fracking there is very little serious information or research about its implications in the UK and Europe. This is particularly true in terms of how to mitigate the risks involved in order to achieve a safe and productive operation where potential pollution and other problems have been effectively engineered out. This project aims to address these issues by investigating the feasibility of a comprehensive fugitive emissions monitoring system that is capable of detecting developing situations before they become major incidents. This will be achieved by developing a sound mathematical model of a typical fracking well pad in terms of its environmental behaviour and potential risk profile. From this risk “map”, and its associated possible distribution characteristics, a monitoring schema will be designed that can then be demonstrated to detect any potential threat within the well pad area, without having to predict a particular failure mode. The project represents a close cooperation between the ReFINE research consortium and Trolex to produce the basis for environmentally controlled fracking.

Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) is one of the major health and safety issues surrounding the operation of the fracking process. Whilst attention in the UK has focussed elsewhere considerable experience has been obtained in the US about the safety implications involved in fracking operations. Silica sand is one of the most important components of the fracking process and whilst it is not itself hazardous, its use in the fracking process creates a very dangerous crystalline silica dust. This dust is recognised as a serious health hazard, causing silicosis and a variety of other life threatening conditions. Current methods of monitoring RCS in the atmosphere rely on its collection onto a filter over a period of time, followed by laboratory analysis to identify the proportion of silica present. This may take up to 2 weeks, by which time any damage has already been done. The objective of this project is to establish the feasibility of a real-time sensor that is capable of measuring the concentration of RCS in the atmosphere on a continuous basis. Such a sensor would be based on an innovative approach to distinguishing the particular characteristics of airborne crystalline silica particles.