The Technical Advisory Committee on Diesel-Powered Equipment (TAC) held a regular meeting on February 22 at the Fayette County Health Center in Uniontown. The meeting began at 10 a.m.

Members Present:

Others Present:

Minutes of the December 1, 1999, meeting were read by Gene Davis and approved. Gene noted that all Dry System Technology (DST) approved diesel engines will now have an exhaust gas shut down temperature of 285° F or less. He also advised those present that he had received a response from Deputy Secretary Robert Dolence regarding the link to GreenWorks on the BDMS web page. The GreenWorks line remains, but the GreenWorks movie has been removed from the site.

Review of Brookville’s application regarding an alternate test procedure for the Isuzu C240 Diesel Engine with DST System: The TAC submitted a letter to Bureau Director Richard Stickler dated February 22 recommending approval of the alternate test procedure (217-A and 218-A) for the C240 Isuzu 56 HP diesel engine that powers the Brookville Model 5M57D personnel carrier.

Review of Rohmac’s letter requesting clarification of Section 217-A (b)(6): Gene Davis read the February 22 letter that the TAC submitted to Bureau Director Stickler in response to Rohmac’s January 7 request asking for clarification for the word "new" in Section 217-A(b)(6) of the Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal Mining Laws. Mr. Stickler accepted TAC’s letter as an interpretation of Section 217-A (b)(6).

Gene Davis requested that Rohmac revise their specification sheet to change the back pressure from 24 psi to 30 psi. He also informed the committee that the model number of Rohmac’s MicroTraxx Tractor MT436 has been changed to MT436RD (radio diesel).

TAC Research and Investigation: (1) The TAC committee reported to BDMS that since the Pennsylvania Law requires an oxidation catalyst, recent research has shown that some after-treatment devices, such as an oxidation catalyst, may increase the NO2 concentration on the filter outside of the diesel engine.

Since ventilation rates derived from the ISO-178 test results are based upon raw exhaust and not the treated exhaust, the TAC cautioned BDMS that ventilation rates might need to be adjusted to insure that the threshold limit values (TLV) for NO2 in Section 219-A are not exceeded. Mr. Stickler assigned Engineering Division Chief Bill Bookshar to research this issue.

(2) One of the requirements of Section 217-A is that the engine be brought to normal operating temperature prior to the test being run. During the four tests the TAC has witnessed, it became clear that normal operating temperature does not simply mean that the gauges are in the normal range, but that the engine has run long enough to allow the raw exhaust to heat the catalyst sufficiently to create a repeatable situation. This has always been the intention of this section of law. The TAC requested that an informational bulletin be sent to the manufacturers, industry, and the miners that this test be performed after the engine has run through its normal duty cycle for a period of time that will insure the catalyst is operating at its full potential. This bulletin will reflect "good diesel equipment operating practices."

New Business: Bill Bookshar gave an overview of the diesel approvals, both pending and completed, to date. BDMS requested that confusion be eliminated by including a number or date on general specifications to distinguish one approval from another. The Bureau will assign a number to previously approved general specification sheets, and the TAC will assign a number in that series for specification sheets for future approvals that they recommend.

Gene Davis raised a question about previously approved plans that referenced Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Part 32 ventilation rates. It was recommended that the manufacturers send a letter to the Bureau that they accept the recommendation of the Bureau dated October 27, 1999, to use the MSHA Part 7 ventilation rates.

Bureau Director Richard Stickler stated the diesel application approval process could be streamlined and presented a draft process, which he handed out to the TAC for consideration. Both the TAC and the Bureau believe the process can be improved. The TAC will submit written comments and recommendations within 30 days.

Gene Davis inquired as to how to purchase the Diesel-Powered Equipment booklets. The Department prints the booklets in-house and, Matt Bertovich informed him that 1,000 books would be requested for printing.

The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on April 19, 2000, at 10 a.m. in Uniontown.