To relieve miners' hell: Latrine, books, antidepressants?

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To relieve miners' hell: Latrine, books, antidepressants?

8/26/2010 2:10 PM



By Victor Herrero, Special for USA TODAY

SANTIAGO, Chile --

One of the first orders given to the 33 miners trapped in Chile's San Jos mine

on Wednesday was to dig a latrine.

A " clean area " and a " dirty area " will be essential if the miners are to survive

what could be a four-month stay 2,200 feet underground before rescue, according

to the health ministry. Then there will be entertainment, exercise and keeping

their spirits up all of which will be nearly as important as food and water,

Minister of Health Maalich said.

" We have to make sure the miners are physically and psychologically fit, " he

said. " If they lose their mental balance, it could create panic and violence

down there, and that would be a huge catastrophe. "

Rescue workers were able last Sunday to make contact through a 5-inch borehole

to where the miners are trapped, sending down food and water. Since then,

officials and rescue workers have focused on sanitary conditions and mental

health issues to help the men make it to possibly Christmas, when they hope to

have drilled a hole wide enough for the miners to be pulled out one at a time.

Maalich says the miners have not yet been told that it may take several months

to be rescued.

A large drill will begin boring this weekend, and will aim for 65 feet a day a

speed aimed to prevent causing a collapse.

Family members have been instructed not to mention any timetable in the written

notes that they now can regularly send down to the miners, he said. A team of

psychologists has been assembled to talk to each one of the miners to keep their

spirits up. Officials are also discussing sending the miners antidepressants.

To keep their minds occupied, the miners will receive playing cards, video games

and books, all of which are going to be sent down three boreholes that have

reached the area where the men are trapped.

The miners are living in a dark, humid, 95-degree environment. The miners are

barely using the 450-square-foot security chamber where they spent the first

days after the Aug. 5 cave-in, Chilean health officials say.

There are at least 1.2 miles of chambers and tunnels, which contain three

pickups and one large truck. The miners had been using the vehicles' batteries

to power the bulbs in their helmets. Now they have received flashlights from

above. The miners also have used the trucks to sleep or just rest.

Health officials have instructed the miners to keep a regular schedule of

physical activities during the day and to make up work tasks to keep them busy.

" It is important for them to maintain a hierarchical structure, and to keep up

with regular, 12-hour shifts, " said Rene Aguilar, risk manager of one of Chile's

biggest copper mines.

Technology exists that can help them cope with the darkness and isolation. A

cable to provide electrical power and fiber optic communications should be among

the first items sent down, says Al Gasiewski, an expert on remote sensing and

communications and a professor at the University of Colorado.

Such cables could power low-voltage lights and provide a high-speed

communications link so miners can video-chat with doctors and loved ones, said

Gasiewski, a fellow with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

NASA, which trains astronauts to cope with isolation, is providing survival tips

to Chilean officials.

There are other risks ahead. Rescuers worry that some parts of the mine are

still in danger of collapsing. " There are still micro-tremors, the mountain is

instable, " said Pontt, a mining expert at Chile's Federico Santa

University. " But worse would be an earthquake. "

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To relieve miners' hell: Latrine, books, antidepressants?

8/26/2010 2:10 PM



By Victor Herrero, Special for USA TODAY

SANTIAGO, Chile --

One of the first orders given to the 33 miners trapped in Chile's San Jos mine

on Wednesday was to dig a latrine.

A " clean area " and a " dirty area " will be essential if the miners are to survive

what could be a four-month stay 2,200 feet underground before rescue, according

to the health ministry. Then there will be entertainment, exercise and keeping

their spirits up all of which will be nearly as important as food and water,

Minister of Health Maalich said.

" We have to make sure the miners are physically and psychologically fit, " he

said. " If they lose their mental balance, it could create panic and violence

down there, and that would be a huge catastrophe. "

Rescue workers were able last Sunday to make contact through a 5-inch borehole

to where the miners are trapped, sending down food and water. Since then,

officials and rescue workers have focused on sanitary conditions and mental

health issues to help the men make it to possibly Christmas, when they hope to

have drilled a hole wide enough for the miners to be pulled out one at a time.

Maalich says the miners have not yet been told that it may take several months

to be rescued.

A large drill will begin boring this weekend, and will aim for 65 feet a day a

speed aimed to prevent causing a collapse.

Family members have been instructed not to mention any timetable in the written

notes that they now can regularly send down to the miners, he said. A team of

psychologists has been assembled to talk to each one of the miners to keep their

spirits up. Officials are also discussing sending the miners antidepressants.

To keep their minds occupied, the miners will receive playing cards, video games

and books, all of which are going to be sent down three boreholes that have

reached the area where the men are trapped.

The miners are living in a dark, humid, 95-degree environment. The miners are

barely using the 450-square-foot security chamber where they spent the first

days after the Aug. 5 cave-in, Chilean health officials say.

There are at least 1.2 miles of chambers and tunnels, which contain three

pickups and one large truck. The miners had been using the vehicles' batteries

to power the bulbs in their helmets. Now they have received flashlights from

above. The miners also have used the trucks to sleep or just rest.

Health officials have instructed the miners to keep a regular schedule of

physical activities during the day and to make up work tasks to keep them busy.

" It is important for them to maintain a hierarchical structure, and to keep up

with regular, 12-hour shifts, " said Rene Aguilar, risk manager of one of Chile's

biggest copper mines.

Technology exists that can help them cope with the darkness and isolation. A

cable to provide electrical power and fiber optic communications should be among

the first items sent down, says Al Gasiewski, an expert on remote sensing and

communications and a professor at the University of Colorado.

Such cables could power low-voltage lights and provide a high-speed

communications link so miners can video-chat with doctors and loved ones, said

Gasiewski, a fellow with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

NASA, which trains astronauts to cope with isolation, is providing survival tips

to Chilean officials.

There are other risks ahead. Rescuers worry that some parts of the mine are

still in danger of collapsing. " There are still micro-tremors, the mountain is

instable, " said Pontt, a mining expert at Chile's Federico Santa

University. " But worse would be an earthquake. "

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To relieve miners' hell: Latrine, books, antidepressants?

8/26/2010 2:10 PM



By Victor Herrero, Special for USA TODAY

SANTIAGO, Chile --

One of the first orders given to the 33 miners trapped in Chile's San Jos mine

on Wednesday was to dig a latrine.

A " clean area " and a " dirty area " will be essential if the miners are to survive

what could be a four-month stay 2,200 feet underground before rescue, according

to the health ministry. Then there will be entertainment, exercise and keeping

their spirits up all of which will be nearly as important as food and water,

Minister of Health Maalich said.

" We have to make sure the miners are physically and psychologically fit, " he

said. " If they lose their mental balance, it could create panic and violence

down there, and that would be a huge catastrophe. "

Rescue workers were able last Sunday to make contact through a 5-inch borehole

to where the miners are trapped, sending down food and water. Since then,

officials and rescue workers have focused on sanitary conditions and mental

health issues to help the men make it to possibly Christmas, when they hope to

have drilled a hole wide enough for the miners to be pulled out one at a time.

Maalich says the miners have not yet been told that it may take several months

to be rescued.

A large drill will begin boring this weekend, and will aim for 65 feet a day a

speed aimed to prevent causing a collapse.

Family members have been instructed not to mention any timetable in the written

notes that they now can regularly send down to the miners, he said. A team of

psychologists has been assembled to talk to each one of the miners to keep their

spirits up. Officials are also discussing sending the miners antidepressants.

To keep their minds occupied, the miners will receive playing cards, video games

and books, all of which are going to be sent down three boreholes that have

reached the area where the men are trapped.

The miners are living in a dark, humid, 95-degree environment. The miners are

barely using the 450-square-foot security chamber where they spent the first

days after the Aug. 5 cave-in, Chilean health officials say.

There are at least 1.2 miles of chambers and tunnels, which contain three

pickups and one large truck. The miners had been using the vehicles' batteries

to power the bulbs in their helmets. Now they have received flashlights from

above. The miners also have used the trucks to sleep or just rest.

Health officials have instructed the miners to keep a regular schedule of

physical activities during the day and to make up work tasks to keep them busy.

" It is important for them to maintain a hierarchical structure, and to keep up

with regular, 12-hour shifts, " said Rene Aguilar, risk manager of one of Chile's

biggest copper mines.

Technology exists that can help them cope with the darkness and isolation. A

cable to provide electrical power and fiber optic communications should be among

the first items sent down, says Al Gasiewski, an expert on remote sensing and

communications and a professor at the University of Colorado.

Such cables could power low-voltage lights and provide a high-speed

communications link so miners can video-chat with doctors and loved ones, said

Gasiewski, a fellow with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

NASA, which trains astronauts to cope with isolation, is providing survival tips

to Chilean officials.

There are other risks ahead. Rescuers worry that some parts of the mine are

still in danger of collapsing. " There are still micro-tremors, the mountain is

instable, " said Pontt, a mining expert at Chile's Federico Santa

University. " But worse would be an earthquake. "

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[Guest guest]

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To relieve miners' hell: Latrine, books, antidepressants?

8/26/2010 2:10 PM



By Victor Herrero, Special for USA TODAY

SANTIAGO, Chile --

One of the first orders given to the 33 miners trapped in Chile's San Jos mine

on Wednesday was to dig a latrine.

A " clean area " and a " dirty area " will be essential if the miners are to survive

what could be a four-month stay 2,200 feet underground before rescue, according

to the health ministry. Then there will be entertainment, exercise and keeping

their spirits up all of which will be nearly as important as food and water,

Minister of Health Maalich said.

" We have to make sure the miners are physically and psychologically fit, " he

said. " If they lose their mental balance, it could create panic and violence

down there, and that would be a huge catastrophe. "

Rescue workers were able last Sunday to make contact through a 5-inch borehole

to where the miners are trapped, sending down food and water. Since then,

officials and rescue workers have focused on sanitary conditions and mental

health issues to help the men make it to possibly Christmas, when they hope to

have drilled a hole wide enough for the miners to be pulled out one at a time.

Maalich says the miners have not yet been told that it may take several months

to be rescued.

A large drill will begin boring this weekend, and will aim for 65 feet a day a

speed aimed to prevent causing a collapse.

Family members have been instructed not to mention any timetable in the written

notes that they now can regularly send down to the miners, he said. A team of

psychologists has been assembled to talk to each one of the miners to keep their

spirits up. Officials are also discussing sending the miners antidepressants.

To keep their minds occupied, the miners will receive playing cards, video games

and books, all of which are going to be sent down three boreholes that have

reached the area where the men are trapped.

The miners are living in a dark, humid, 95-degree environment. The miners are

barely using the 450-square-foot security chamber where they spent the first

days after the Aug. 5 cave-in, Chilean health officials say.

There are at least 1.2 miles of chambers and tunnels, which contain three

pickups and one large truck. The miners had been using the vehicles' batteries

to power the bulbs in their helmets. Now they have received flashlights from

above. The miners also have used the trucks to sleep or just rest.

Health officials have instructed the miners to keep a regular schedule of

physical activities during the day and to make up work tasks to keep them busy.

" It is important for them to maintain a hierarchical structure, and to keep up

with regular, 12-hour shifts, " said Rene Aguilar, risk manager of one of Chile's

biggest copper mines.

Technology exists that can help them cope with the darkness and isolation. A

cable to provide electrical power and fiber optic communications should be among

the first items sent down, says Al Gasiewski, an expert on remote sensing and

communications and a professor at the University of Colorado.

Such cables could power low-voltage lights and provide a high-speed

communications link so miners can video-chat with doctors and loved ones, said

Gasiewski, a fellow with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

NASA, which trains astronauts to cope with isolation, is providing survival tips

to Chilean officials.

There are other risks ahead. Rescuers worry that some parts of the mine are

still in danger of collapsing. " There are still micro-tremors, the mountain is

instable, " said Pontt, a mining expert at Chile's Federico Santa

University. " But worse would be an earthquake. "

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