I was just sent this link by a caving friend; it made me smile so I thought I'd share it...

http://www.msha.gov/KIDS/ABANDON/UNDER.HTM 

:lol:

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"There is no safe way for a trespasser to determine the condition of a ladder"

Yes there is, make Pete climb it first :lol:

Yee gods ..... made me glad I don't do much underground anymore!!!! 😉 🙂

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Ah yes, I remember seeing that a while back :)

To be honest, it does contain some useful information - albeit that it's things that most of us assess without consciously thinking about it.

Am I correct in thinking that the attitude in the States is a lot more serious in terms of locking sites up? Not to mention the threat of being shot by the landowner for trespassing...

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Vanoord's remark about being shot while trespassing would seem to be true. I wrote this for the WMS Autumn 2007 Newsletter ...

Stay Out - Stay Alive Website

This U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration website mentions the startling fact that "Every year, dozens of people are injured or killed in recreational accidents on [U.S.] mine property." However, the statistics do not look quite so alarming when the actual reports (available on the site) are examined. The majority of deaths appear to be drownings due to swimming, diving or recreational boating in flooded quarries. A second significant category includes ATV and SUV accidents. There are also incidents where the term 'recreational' seems to be somewhat stretched and which one might hope would not happen in Wales. These include a trespasser on a mine site being fatally shot by a mine security guard, a fugitive from a police car chase being found hanging by his "bare hands" above a "treacherous 300-foot drop" into a quarry and another fugitive from a police chase falling down a mine shaft. However, despite the bizarre nature of some of the incidents, the reports provide an interesting insight into some of the issues involved when the safety of disused mines is discussed. Also, considering that mention is made of the headline statistic in the report on Statutory Nuisance Mineshafts ... it highlights the problem of comparing raw accident statistics from different countries.

U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration 'Stay Out - Stay Alive' website http://www.msha.gov/SOSA/SOSAhome.asp 

‘The Investigation of Statutory Nuisance Mineshafts’, David Holmes, D&D Holmes 2007, 130pp. A summary of the report can be found at http://www.d-dholmes.co.uk/Mine survey project 2006 Summary.htm 

Dave

[tweak]Links tweaked - need http:// prefix, something else to look at in the next round of site updates[/tweak]

Davel, neither link you gave seems to work, both come back as page not found!

Links fixed - not davel's fault, just needed the http:// prefix on them.

Y'all stay out of my mine now...

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Thanks Simon.
300,000 abandoned mine entrances! Wow! :thumbup:

All abandoned mine water should be considered unfit for drinking. it is frequently contaminated with chemicals and other refuse. oops realy could expane the rash and gammy eye :lol:

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All abandoned mine water should be considered unfit for drinking. it is frequently contaminated with chemicals and other refuse. oops realy could expane the rash and gammy eye :lol:

Yet we get a lot of our drinking water from underground sources...

That, of course, neatly overlooks the simple fact that aquifers tend to filter things out whereas mines often have all sorts of interesting things in them that aren't always compatible with the human digestive system.

And in the case of metal mines, the very stuff that's been extracted is - essentially - a water pollutant.

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And in the case of metal mines, the very stuff that's been extracted is - essentially - a water pollutant.

The copper and arsenic gives a lovely crystal-blue tint to the water in Coniston Gill.... :devil:

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Yet in Cornwall abandoned mines have been usd to supplement drinking water sources, South West Water have used both Williams Shaft (Dolcoath) and Fortescues Shaft (Wheal Grenville).

Some may say that explains a thing or two, but thta would get them in a whole heap more trouble than the dangers posed by a hyper dangerous american mine!!!