Ed Ranks Mining Damps

Basically the same security practices in 2020.

After an initial study of advanced data analytics, I have determined that 106% of Ed Ranks Everything readers are grizzled, old coal miners. Or maybe it was "minors." I dunno. Anyway, based on that, I have decided to really aim at the heart of the juicy types of things my regular audience (of about 4) wants to read. Mining shit!

"Damps" are types of gasses that you can find in coal mines. None of them are particularly good. Odd word, right? It comes from the  Middle Low German word "dampf," meaning vapor. There are five types of damps. Here they are, ranked.

5. Blackdamp (AKA Choke Damp) -  Worst of all damps. The nickname of choke damp says it all. It is a suffocating mixture of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. Fun, right? I mean, maybe if you're into being asphyxiated by gas, rather than a leather-bound mistress.This one, like whitedamp, produces no smell. It works slowly to deprive you of oxygen, so most people breathing it in just figure that they are having normal symptoms of fatigue associated with the rough labor job of coal mining. Worst of all, blankdamp can just exist in mines without you doing anything dump to make gases appear like igniting something. The equally deadly and odorless whitedamp at least needs to be ignited to start leaking out.

4. Whitedamp -  This is just another name for carbon monoxide. Just like the leaks you might get in your house, this is highly dangerous due to being both toxic and explosive, yet lacking a warning smell. This will kill you. As the ranking for blackdamp implied, this carbon monoxide can't just start forming on its own though, and it required an act of combustion to start it going. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean some idiot has to light a fire down there to set it off. Something as innocuous as the atmosphere can make coal begin burning very slowly. So slowly that it's not even noticed, and releasing carbon monoxide.

3. Firedamp - This refers to nearly any mixture of flammable gases, principally methane. Probably not good to have in a cave, right? Of course not, because it can blow up and kill you. I'd say being blown up is slightly better than being slowly chocked to death, right? Because at least it's instant. Though you might think methane stinks (if you think of farts), it's actually odorless like the first two and the smell you get from methane actually comes from other gasses that usually form along with it. If you're smelling something in a cave, it ain't firedamp. It's stinkdamp.

2. Afterdamp - This is a mixture of gases (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and others) produced following explosions of firedamp (or coal dust). I guess it's good that this is what happens after an explosion, because it won't catch you by surprise like some of the other damps. The other ones can sneak up on you and kill you, but this is pretty predictable because it only comes after a mine has had an explosion, so you know what you're getting into.

1. Stinkdamp - This usually refers to hydrogen sulfide, which is both toxic and explosive. But on the good side? The "stink" part of it. Since it's easily detectable by the "rotten egg" smell, you're not going to walk into it and kill yourself. Unless you're pretty dumb. Let's not pretend that stinkdamp is good. It can still suffocate you. It can still blow up. But all things considered, if your cave is going to be full of deadly gasses, you should hope that you can at least smell them.