China and Germany Tuesday started a project involving the use of
innovative technologies for detecting, monitoring and extinguishing
coal fires in North China.
The project, initiated by the National Remote Sensing Center of
China and the German Aerospace Center, covers such areas as studies
on spontaneous combustion conditions in coal bearing areas in North
China, development of new technologies for extinguishing coal
fires, prevention of such fires and early detection, sources from
the National Remote Sensing Center of China said at the kick-off
ceremony for the project in Beijing.
The project will be mainly implemented in the Wuda and Gulaben
coal fields of the Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Ruqigou coal field in the Ningxia
Hui Autonomous Region, where coal fires are relatively
serious.
China and Germany will together set up a specialized research
team to study the complex factors involved and the process of coal
fires and develop fire-prevention technologies, according to the
center.
The project has been listed as part of the governmental
cooperation framework for science and technology established by the
two countries, according to Yin Jun, an official of the Department
for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science
and Technology.
"Perfecting methods of extinguishing and monitoring coal fires
will also improve production safety in coal mines, which is of
great concern to the Chinese Government. It will also help save
coal resources and reduce environmental pollution,'' said Yin.
He said this year marks the 25th anniversary of the very
successful cooperation of China and Germany in science and
technology.
Fire disasters in underground coal fields are becoming
increasingly severe. The Wuda coal field in Inner Mongolia alone
has 16 fire-prone areas, with a total burning area of more than
300,000 square meters. Since 1990, spontaneous combustion in these
coal areas has caused a loss of 1.8 million tons of coal resources,
according to statistics from the Shenhua Group Company -- a major
work unit involved in the Sino-German project.
The coal fires have emitted over 360,000 tons of sulphur oxide
over the past 13 years, resulting in an increase in acid rain, land
desertification and ecological deterioration in the Inner Mongolian
Autonomous Region, according to the group's report.
According to Stefan Voigt, an official and researcher with the
German Aerospace Center, coal fires are a global problem, occurring
in many countries and regions. North America, India, Indonesia and
North China have the most severe cases of coal fires.
Coal fires have many bad affects, such as the waste of energy
resources, land degradation, and moreover, causing lung cancer,
diseases of the respiratory system and other diseases, said
Voigt.
(China Daily September 10, 2003)
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