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The 2009 Handlová mine blast occurred on 10 August, 2009 roughly 330 metres (1,080 ft) underground in Trencin Region, Slovakia at Hornonitrianske Bane Prievidza, a.s.s (HNB) coal mine located in the town of Handlová. 20 people were killed, nine others suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment.〔 Some historians have called the disaster the largest mining tragedy in Slovakia’s history. The deadly explosion, probably caused by flammable gases, occurred after mine rescuers had earlier been deployed to extinguish a fire in the Eastern shaft of the mine. The incident is the deadliest mining disaster in Slovakia's history since the country's independence in 1993.〔 Only 12 people had been killed while mining in Slovakia during the previous twelve years.〔〔 An official investigation into the disaster concluded in 2011, that several factors caused the explosion, but was unable to determine if any breaches of safety regulation had occurred. There employees with the mining company were eventually charged with negligence. == Background == Hornonitrianske Bane (HNB) Prievidza, a.s coal mine in Handlová is known as a rich source of Slovakia’s best-quality brown coal, however it also ranks among the most dangerous mines in the country because it is literally full of methane, a very explosive gas. The mine is equipped with sensors to monitor the concentration of methane in the air and whenever the concentration rises to an explosive level, the electrical installation in the whole mine is switched off and miners are signalled to leave. Coal extracted from mines in the Upper Nitra region is also 10 times younger than the hard black coal in the Ostrava region, which means that it is considerably less stable and poses a higher risk of rock-slides. The latter is what happened in nearby Nováky where four miners died in 2006. Coal extraction at Handlová ceased in 1990 and the mine was closed down by a government decision was made for economic reasons rather than safety concerns. Coal mining was restarted in 2003, based on a decision of the Slovak government made in 1993. The state has been supporting mining as a source of jobs in this relatively poor region of the country. Coal mining companies received subventions worth more than €3.2 million from the state budget in 2008 and the privately owned HNB company received almost €500,000 of that sum. The state also guarantees demand for coal extracted from Slovak mines. For instance, the former state energy company, Slovenské elektrárne is obliged to buy coal for its power plant in Nováky, the only one fired with brown coal, exclusively from domestic sources. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2009 Handlová mine blast」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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