Mine safety in coal mines, which in turn can initiate more extensive coal dust explosions. For this reason, rock dusts such as limestone dust are spread throughout coal mines to diminish the chances of coal dust explosions as well as to limit the extent of potential explosions, in a process known as rock dusting. Coal dust explosions can also begin independently of methane gas explosions. Frictional heat and sparks generated by mining equipment can ignite both methane gas and coal dust. For this reason, water is often used to cool rock-cutting sites. Miners utilize equipment strong enough to break through extremely hard
Damp (structural) likely to be functioning, as the materials from which damp proof courses are manufactured tend to have a long lifespan. However, it should be acknowledged that there are cases where existing damp proof courses fail for one reason or another. One indicator that is often used to determine if the source of dampness is rising damp (rather than other forms of dampness) is to look for the presence of salts – in particular a tell tale "salt band" or "tide mark" at the peak of the damp's rise. This is not a reliable method as salts and dampness can enter