FEATURES OF TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY CONDITIONS OF EXTINGUISHING WASTE HEAPS OF COAL MINES IN SPRING

Abstract

Burning of waste heaps of coal mines causes pollution of the environment with toxic gases, increases the temperature of the environment thereby changing the microclimate of the mining area. The purpose of the work is to investigate the temperature and humidity conditions of extinguishing heaps in the spring period in Novovolynsk mining area of Ukraine. The waste heap №1 of mine №9 "Novovolynska" mine were chosen for the research because the combustion processes were observed there in spring. The following actions are foreseen to implement this goal: to determine the temperature on the surface of the heap and in the places of combustion; to determine relative humidity indicators of the rock at a depth of 5 cm, 30 cm, and 50 cm; to measure the radiation background at the extinguishing heap. The temperature of the surface of the extinguishing heap was determined by the contactless pyrometer NR-1300. Humidity of the rock was measured with a moisture tester MG-44. The radiation background was measured by dosimeter by SOEKS USA, LLC. The software is a package of applications Surfer, MS Excel, MS Visio. Statistical data processing was performed using correlation analysis. It was found out that: the highest temperature regimes (+ 33-39 °C) was typical for the sites in combustion areas that are located on the middle tier of the southern slope exposure; at a depth of 5 cm the highest humidity was at the foot of the western side of the heap (44.8%); at a depth of 30 cm the highest humidity was at the foot of the western side of the heap (47%); at a depth of 50 cm, the highest humidity was at the foot of the northern side of the heap (55.1%); the highest rates of equivalent radiation dose were observed near the combustion sites of the rock and reached up to 0.18 μSv / h; the temperature on the surface of the extinguishing heap correlates with a humidity at a depth of 5 cm (K = -0.58542), 30 cm (K = -0.75665), 50 cm (K = -0.78303) and does not depend on the radiation background at all (K = 0.368116). With an increase in the rock temperature its moisture decreases and vice versa - at high humidity the temperature of the rock reduces. Extinguishing heaps are environmentally hazardous as they cause emissions of toxic substances to the environment that do not decrease over the years. Extinguishing heaps due to combustion processes cause the burning of the root system of plants, that leads to the complications of recultivation