A portable environmental data-monitoring system for air hazard evaluation in deep underground mines

Abstract

Air-quality measurements in a deep underground mine are a critical issue. The cost of ventilation, as well as the geometry of the considered mine, make this process very difficult, and local air quality may be a danger to miners. Thus, portable, personal devices are required to inform miners about gas hazards. There are available tools for that purpose; however, they do not allow the storage of data collected during a shift. Moreover, they do not allow the basic analysis of the acquired data cost-effectively. This paper aims to present a system using low-cost gas sensors and microcontrollers, and takes advantage of commonly used smartphones as a computing and visualization resource. Finally, we demonstrate monitoring system results from a test in an underground mine located in Poland.