Chapter 13 – Fire Prevention in Coal Waste Dumps: Exemplified by the Rymer Cones, Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland

The Rymer coal-waste dump is one of many dumps in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Poland). The dumping of waste from the nearby Rymer coal mine started there in the early 1900s. The dump comprised three cones approximately 60–65m high in which self-heating processes occurred. During 1995–1999, an attempt was made to reclaim the dump. Two of the cones (2 and 3) were combined and a flat surface was created on top. Cone 1 was retained. The dump was surrounded by a moat filled mostly with fly ash and clays with the aim of cutting air access into the dump. On top of the moat, waste from current mining was placed. Despite these attempts, the dump as a whole, and the newly deposited current waste, soon began to show signs of self-heating of varying intensity. In 2000, parts of the dump were covered with concrete panels filled with fly ash pulp to further inhibit air access into the dump interior. That action also failed to stop self-heating within the dump. In later years, parts of the concrete panels were removed. Today, the dump is continuously monitored and fire spots are excavated for liquidation. The dump has also been rebuilt in places to eliminate hot spots.