Hazard identification and risk assessment of groundwater inrush from a coal mine: a review

Evaluation of water inrush risk is becoming increasingly important as coal mining activities reach greater depths. Hazard identification, as well as hazard analysis, is the first step in accident prevention. However, there have not been any studies that focus on the hazard analysis system for mine water inrush. In this paper, hazard identification and its definitions are briefly summarized and a comprehensive review of methods for hazard identification and classification are conducted. To illustrate the hazard of coal mine water inrush, data on coal mine accidents (since 2001) are collected and hundreds water inrush accidents were analyzed in depth. Empirical, statistical analysis and case study method were used to conduct the research. By collecting a large number of mine water inrush cases, hazard identification and risk control measures for coal mine water inrush accidents were conducted. Hazard identification method based on fault tree analysis, as well as a method based on management oversight and risk tree (MORT) and energy release theory were put forward. The analysis results show that the historical information and experiences are critically important in hazard identification of mine water inrush. Hazard of mine water inrush is divided into dynamic root hazard and static root hazard which can be further categorized into static innate hazard and dynamic-triggered hazard. Strategies for risk control of mine water inrush are combined into three aspects: engineering controls, operation system controls, and human behavior controls. Finally, a case study of the Taoyuan coal mine was conducted to illustrate the proposed system, with limitations and future studies are discussed. The hazard identification and classification system can be broadly applied to coal mines and will improve risk control and prevention of mine water inrush accidents.