 Underground coal miners work in an environment that is safer and healthier than ever before. This is partly due to the many advances that have been made over the years in personal protective equipment. Miners may not think much about this equipment during their shift. However, it becomes very important when an emergency occurs. Being on a mine rescue team, we had to go into a mine that was on fire. And the people that came out of the mine before we had arrived, it saved their lives. If you learn how to use the unit, properly dawned and properly maintained, it will save your life in a mine emergency. This is an SR-100 self-contained self-rescuer. If you ever need to escape from your mine through unbreathable air, the SR-100 will supply about 100 liters of oxygen. It is rated for one hour of use. It can be a lifesaver, but it must be cared for and maintained daily. The inspection, care and use of the CSC SR-100 self-contained self-rescuer. First, we will emphasize some of the SR-100 features. We will show you step by step how to thoroughly inspect the unit before you take it into your workplace. We will show you examples of units showing signs of normal wear and tear compared to those with evidence of excessive wear and tear. This will help you make thorough daily inspections, which are vitally important to ensure that your SCSR will work properly when needed. Finally, we will review proper donning techniques with you and show you what it is like to wear the SCSR in an evacuation exercise. Your SCSR cannot be expected to help you in an emergency if it isn't cared for and inspected properly or if you don't know how to get it on and understand wearing and breathing through such an apparatus. So you'll want to watch closely while we show you training aids in the care and use of this life-saving apparatus. It may be one of the most important lessons in your life. For your own protection, it is important to familiarize yourself with the SR-100. It is equally important to properly inspect your unit before each and every shift. Proper daily inspection means performing a visual inspection of your SCSR. This is the device you may need to wear to save your life. While you are using the SR-100 in a life-saving scenario, the oxygen you need is supplied by a chemical that reacts with the moisture in your breath. You consume the oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. The chemical that reacts with the water vapor then reacts with the carbon dioxide and removes it from your breathing air. If water vapor in the surrounding atmosphere enters the SR-100 while you carry it on your belt during your normal workday activities, the chemical will react with it. This means some of the chemical will become spent and will not be available when you need it. Color indicators on both the top and bottom covers are designed to alert you if your unit is leaking, allowing the chemical to become partially consumed, thus depriving you of all the oxygen you may need for an escape. First, remove the SCSR from the carrying case. It should come out smoothly without much effort. Now take a look at the SCSR from all sides, taking special note of the seals. You should expect to find minor denting in the stainless steel covers. This is the result of normal wear and tear. Similarly, the corners on the plastic case may be abraded. These wear points are the result of abrasion that does not adversely affect the performance of the SR-100, that is, if it passes the remainder of the inspection. Your SR-100 should never be used as a tool to apply or absorb force. Such use may decrease its effectiveness. Hold it! Hold it! Let's get a hammer and do this. Any unit that has been misused should be removed from service immediately. Any suspect unit should be sent to the manufacturer for examination. Extreme temperatures will affect the operation of your SR-100. Avoid exposing the unit to temperatures above 130 degrees Fahrenheit. If the SR-100 is exposed to temperatures above 130 degrees Fahrenheit, it must be removed from service. Avoid storing the SR-100 high in bathhouses or near heaters. Do not put your SCSR on power centers or in the trunk of your car during extreme hot or cold weather. If the SR-100 is exposed to temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, it must be warmed up to at least 32 degrees Fahrenheit before it can be used. Next, check the security bands. Are they in place and secure? If at any time the security bands are out of place, the seals are no longer in their proper position. This usually results from forceful impacts. If this is the case, the unit must be removed from service. After searching the unit for breaks in the seal, check the moisture indicators in the top and bottom covers. The color indicators are readily visible when they are not covered by dirt. Make certain that you keep the indicator window clear for easy viewing. Normally the color indicator is blue. Should it turn any color such as pink or white, moisture has gotten inside and the unit must be removed from service because there is a leak somewhere in the unit. This moisture will react with the chemical and the unit protection time will be diminished. This is true even if the color returns to blue. Also, it is important to understand that leaky seals allow the outside atmosphere to penetrate the unit. The important thing to remember is if the color indicator changes color, remove the unit from service. Blue is the color to watch for. Anything else and performance will be compromised. In fact, you can confirm the readiness of the SR100 visually at any time by checking the moisture indicators in the top and bottom covers. Let us review. In a proper visual inspection, the case itself is first examined for damage. If the orange plastic case is punctured, burnt or crushed, it must be taken out of service. Next, the stainless steel end covers. Are they in position? Are they severely dented or damaged, especially around the seal areas? Now take a look at the security bands. Make sure they are not slack, unattached or unfastened. Next, inspect the seals. Are they cut, split or displaced? Finally, check the moisture indicators on both the top and bottom end caps. Are they blue, indicating no moisture has entered the unit? With proper inspection and proper use, the SR100 can be counted on to provide dependable and reliable protection. Take a look now as we show conditions you should watch for. The following instances indicate potential danger and are not acceptable. In this example, the end cover and security bands are out of position. The seal is exposed. In this example, the seal is protruding from under the stainless steel cover. In this example, the seal is exposed and the indicator is blue. Even though the indicator is blue, the exposed seal puts the unit in jeopardy and it must be removed from service. Although the SR100 is very rugged, your SR100 should be inspected every 90 days for external and internal damage. As part of the testing of the SR100, it is necessary to perform an acoustic test with an ASMD tester. To determine if there is excess movement of solid particles within the SR100 chemical bed. The occurrence of excess movement may affect the operating performance of the unit. This test should be performed every 90 days by the person assigned to maintain the SCSRs. Generally, this may be a lampman or some other outside person. Now that you are familiar with the SR100 and proper testing of the unit, you will want to spend the next few minutes viewing how to put it on and use it correctly. This part of the tape is part of a training program designed to show you an efficient way to don the SR100. After you finish viewing this tape, you will want to practice donning the SR100 as if you were in an actual emergency. Knowing how to put on the SR100 and use it properly can save your life in a toxic or oxygen deficient atmosphere. The guy that I was working with with my body, he and I had just gone through the SCSR retraining class. That shift before he went into mine. So it was still fresh in our mind how to put it on. So we proceeded to put ours on and as you looked around you could see other people were struggling with theirs. So I do fully realize the importance of the SCSR. But you have to know the daily maintenance of your SCSR, know how to wear it, how to use it and know when to use it. It can save your life. You will watch as a worker demonstrates how to don the SCSR. Take special note as you watch him kneel on the floor, remove the unit from his belt and place it on the floor in front of him. He then puts his cap on the floor with the light shining on the SCSR. He next opens the unit by lifting the latch located on the top and removing both covers, top and bottom. In the event either the top and or bottom covers cannot easily be removed or for some reason you cannot tightly grip the covers and pull loose, then use a tool to disengage the cover. An easy way to remove a stuck bottom cover is to place one side of the attached security band under your foot or knee and lift the unit upward. Note that once he loops the neck strap over his head, the worker will follow a special sequence doing the most critical things first. It is very important to not remove the mouthpiece plug from the mouthpiece until you are ready to insert it into your mouth. Unfolding the breathing bag will help the bag to easily fill with oxygen. Pull the large fluorescent orange oxygen actuator tag down to activate the oxygen. Pull the mouthpiece assembly away from the tethered mouthpiece plug. After checking to make sure the hose is not twisted, insert the mouthpiece and exhale into the bag. These first two steps are very important because they are often reversed, so you should practice it until it becomes automatic. Then, he pulls the nose pads apart and puts the nosepiece on so that both nostrils are completely closed. Once his lungs are isolated, he has time to take care of the remaining three steps. One, he puts on the safety goggles which are located in the bottom cap of the case. Two, he adjusts the height of the unit so the neck strap doesn't pull on the mouthpiece when he raises his head. Then, he fastens and adjusts the waist strap. Three, the worker replaces his cap and moves out of harm's way. After you have donned your SR100, discard any non-essential equipment and or gear to minimize your carrying weight. To review, first the worker got on his knees, put his cap on the floor so the light illuminated the SR100 unit. Once he opened the apparatus and looped the neck strap over his head, he is ready to perform three critical steps. Activate the oxygen, remove the mouthpiece plug, insert mouthpiece and exhale into breathing bag and put on the nose clips. The worker was then ready to complete the three secondary steps. He put on his goggles, he adjusted the neck and waist straps and he replaced his cap and moved out of danger. In the unlikely event that the small oxygen bottle inside the SCSR fails to deliver starter oxygen to the breathing bag, the SR100 can be started manually. Simply exhale three to six breaths into the apparatus in order to fill the breathing bag. Then continue through the process of donning the SR100. Reminders while wearing. One, never remove your mouthpiece. Two, walk at a comfortable pace. Three, if warm air or resistance becomes uncomfortable, reduce your speed or work rate. Four, the oxygen cylinder and breathing bag holds 10 liters of oxygen for easy start. In the event no oxygen comes from the cylinder, inflate with three to six breaths. If the breathing bag decreases in volume, slow down your pace to match production, but continue to move. Remember that breathing with the SR100 differs from normal breathing. The temperature of the inhaled air will be slightly higher and there will be some breathing resistance. This is in no way harmful and never warrants removal of the mouthpiece until you are out of danger. Because of the differences, it is best to attempt to breathe normally and move out slowly for the first five minutes. Once acclimated to breathing with the device, you can then speed up to a comfortable pace. Your SCSR cannot be expected to help you in an emergency if it hasn't been cared for and inspected properly or if you don't know how to get it on. I found that once I put the apparatus on and started to breathe through it, it was very, very comfortable breathing. Although there was some initial breathing resistance simply by the design of the apparatus, it was still very easy to breathe through. After about 20 minutes, I could tell that the breathing resistance was beginning to increase slightly. The one thing that I did notice was the heat built up from the unit, which occurs naturally as the unit operates. I could feel the unit starting to get warm right here at the back of the unit where it is up against my chest. But the heat that I was feeling was nothing that you could not tolerate. After 30 minutes of wearing the apparatus, however, I could now see a definite increase in the breathing resistance of the unit, but still nothing that one could not tolerate. And I found that about 30 minutes into wearing the apparatus, I had to begin slowing my walking pace down so that the unit could keep up with my oxygen demand. Once I reached the 50-minute mark, however, the breathing resistance had increased remarkably. In fact, as I was reaching down to touch the breathing hose, I could feel it beginning to collapse just slightly as I would inhale. Also, I noticed the breathing bag at the bottom of the unit also collapsing more as I was breathing. Right at about 60 minutes, however, I stopped and took the apparatus off. It was still working for me, however, in terms of drawing from the unit, the draw was so great that the breathing hose was starting to collapse. And I also felt myself becoming just slightly lightheaded, but still the apparatus was working. One point I want to make, however, a lot of miners think that when they put this apparatus on and start to breathe through it and feel that breathing resistance, they think the unit is not working. It is working for you. As long as you can get oxygen from the air and you can breathe from the apparatus, you know it's working for you. So don't, at any time, take the unit off thinking it's not working. When you feel that it's becoming harder to breathe, slow your pace down. And I know that it's hard to do in a real mind emergency situation, but still if you slow your pace down, that unit will be able to keep up with your needs. Always remember to, at no time, never ever take the mouthpiece out to breathe air in the mind because you never know how much carbon monoxide there may be in the air. And if there's enough carbon monoxide in the air, one breath of the outside air with the mouthpiece out could possibly cause you to go down. So as long as you can breathe from the unit, it's giving you oxygen. Keep the unit on, keep the mouthpiece in and continue your escape. The SR100 is rugged and durable and it will work if cared for properly. But don't take chances. Preach your SR100 with respect. It could help save your life.