Spending months underground - Chilean miners to sit it out

[Shewie]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE67L1NU20100822

Good news that they've been found alive and safe but it got me thinking.

What would it do to a person spending that much time in the dark, mentally and physically ?

They're obviously not alone and will be in contact with the surface regularly now so maybe it won't play with their minds so much, but I wonder how the body will cope without the sun for so long.
It was common a few centuries ago for miners to spend most of their lives underground, but that was a long time ago now and we must have adapted.

I hope they don't get any more complications and everybody gets out okay.

 

[sasquatch]

Thanks for sharing that Shewie, I hadn't even heard about it until now which feels a bit wrong. They're doing good to last 17 days if you ask me, I'd be feeling space madness like Commander Hoek by now...hopefully there's a happy ending to this story well ahead of schedule.

 

[steven andrews]

I just read the story on the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11054376 . 700m underground and they reckon it may take four months to dig them out!!

I hope all goes well.

 

[mojofilter]

Wow, that is horrific, but where there is breath there is hope, and humans are remarkably resilient creatures.

Miners are tough guys used to claustrophobic conditions, I really hope they have enough supplies and all make it!

 

[Tengu]

I can just see someone in a back office going "Oh no! how much overtime they will be owed!"

 

[Mojoracinguk]

700M vertically down....and they are going to lower microphones and the like to them....that's gonna strip Maplins of their audio supplies

The things people do to make a living some times amaze me to the point of saying WOW!

Mojo

 

[EdS]

, but I wonder how the body will cope without the sun for so long.

People seem to manage to cope with no sun for months -- folk live year round inTod

 

[maddave]

That's going to be a long wait !! Keeping mobile will be the most important thing I think, so their muscles don't atrophy and they don't get pressure sores.

 

[Paul_B]

I was thinking about the light situation. I mean down there their head troches would not last long. They must have been in complete darkness for some time. Unless the mine lighting was still working. I suspect it wasn't as there would be communication with the wiring for the lights I'd imagine so no communication for 17 days probably meant no lighting for as long. If anyone has been down a mine with no lighting it is nothing like anything the surface can provide. I hated it. Everything told me it was wrong. No light at all means no reference points for sight and the sound is wrong too. Don't get me wrong I'm not afraid of the dark in any way but the mine without light was not the same as darkness on the surface even in buildings without light it is different.

Its just something to have come into my head. Miners, particularly those in deep mines in areas with poor records of safety like China, Chile and USA, have my respect. The real difference is that in USA there are likely to be more resources in mine rescue. There was the case of US miners a year or so ago Pennylvania IIRC. Over here we heard about it but never heard about the outcome.

Months to get a rescue, that's tough. They will be affected you just can't get out of that intact. Although I guess there will be pulling together among them. The good thing is contact has been made. Until then you don't really know if you are just biding your time until rescue or until death. Grim but knowing that there is a rescue going on must be a relief of sorts.

 

[bilmo-p5]

People seem to manage to cope with no sun for months -- folk live year round inTod

I were in Tod on Sunday an' it were crackin' t'flags as I quaffed a refreshing pint of Cascade 6.1 at Barearts.

 

[Bushwhacker]

I find it incredible that the column inches on this story are surpisingly small, almost like nobody cares.

However, A CAT TRAPPED IN A WHEELY BIN:yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:

Nice to see the press have their priorities right. Again.

 

[Pandabean]

What I can't find out is if they are just trapped in the rescue shelter and thats all there is or is the collapse back in the mine and they have plenty of room to move about in, either way it would determine how much they could move about.

BW - yup thats what news is all about these days, more priority to celebs and other stories that may generate more interest than the more serious stuff.

 

[Retired Member southey]

You'd be dam annoyed if you were sat with your head resting agaisnt the wall at the same spot the drill came through, or even pressed against it saying" guys, i think i hear something".

 

[Paul_B]

I'd be surprised actually since the drills would be coming from the ceilling. If the sketches are correct on the news last might the shelter has a reasonable height ceilling and will be designed to hold the number of personnel likely to be in that area for some time. It will be kitted out with a minimum amount of kit too. I'd imagine they would stay in the shelter chamber just because they won't know too much about the scale of the collapse. I could be wrong but I'd imagine the shelters are more secure than the levels of the mine so as a precaution they'd stay there. It doesn't take much space for you to get exercise anyway. It seems a supervisor down there has taken charge. I think that is good since I'm sure maintaining the supervisory structure that they know would help. If you have ever read or watched any documentary about Shackleton IIRC he had his structure with him at the top. He used trusted people under him as well and used routine to help his men get through that incident. I'd imagine that approach would help here too. Those on the surface could use the Supervisor to set up routines aimed to help the men get through it.

I'm sure every kind of help is available especially psychological help. I read somewhere that one expert asked by a newspaper what they should do said they should use the men. Afterall they are practical and problem solving types so getting them to help in their own rescue would help them get through. Not sure how they'd do that but I guess it takes a miner to know the rocks so perhaps there would be something. Another article said NASA was called in to help them psychologically as the confined conditions are like in a space shuttle / station. Hmmm! Not convinced as in space they have light.

 

[Paul_B]

I'd hope that they would get light down there quickly. Its not the effect lack of sun has on your body but the effect of it on your mind. We are daylight animals as demonstrated by our fear fo the dark as kids.

Anyway I'm sure we are all wishing them well and a speedy rescue. Personally I think I'd prefer more news on this incident than the kitty one or some story about some celeb couple who just got married or divorced (forgotten the details as not interested). Can we swap the miners for celebs?

 

[Bushwhacker]

What provisions do they have for going to the toilet? I reckon that's a pretty big concern given the length of time they're going to be down there.

 

[Paul_B]

Well Bushwhacker, they've already dug a big hole in the ground so reckon they're sorted!

Seriously though, good point. We all think of food, water and their mental health but without sanitation things can get serious too. I'm guessing there are water containers with some of that stuff in them that keeps it potable for some time. Of course that is for drinking. No washing. Then I wonder if there are toilets of some kind there. If so they can't exactly be flushing so they will stink. A lot of animals keep their living area and their waste areas separated so as humans they should have a way to do that too. I doubt a bucket will do.

What sort of rock is it in? Permeable? Only ask because liquid waste could percolate away if it is.

It is an intriguing situation. On this site I'm sure people have looked into and discussed survival in many types of situations but how many times have you actually spent time thinking about deep mine survival in the event of a collapse? I'd like to see the news programmes doing a piece on the facilities in such mines for such survival situations. Better than a cat story IMHO. Perhaps newnight will do a piece on the lavatory arrangements of the Chilean miners.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Whle i am interested in there plight, I wonder how many column inches inthere papers are about our national incidents, bunsfield, flooding and the like?

 

[Paul_B]

You'd be surprised Southey. I use google news to see what's happening and the number of times I read about events here on foreign newspaper sites is surprising. There a few Aussie newspaper sites that are better at reporting our news than our newspapers are sometimes. Also the English language Chinese newspapers are also rather good. Of course they won't put Buncefield or the like on the front page but I'm pretty confident that it made their papers and any incident as big as this Chilean one would probably do so for a day or so. I'd also imagine with the commonwealth there are countries who still have interest in old Blightie. What I wonder about is if other countries are as celeb obsessed in their newspapers as we are. I'd like to go back to when news was news and not opinion and celeb watching.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Very true, It really does sadden me, the amount of stories related to the personal lives of those who mesure there sucess by the amount of ink used to ridicule them. It's the reason i no longer buy any news paper, and very fleetingly catch the news on TV,
but now back to the Miners,
I have always wonder why as soon as there is a cave in the miners loose the abilty to dig, now i'm not suggesting they dig up through to the surface but can they not remove the collapse and brace there way, or is it down to using powerd tools, and a lack of bracing materials? or just because they don't want to risk a further colapse? would the geologist now be in questioning as to why he/she missed the unstable rock formation? or would it be down to the engineer who over saw the bracing?