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The aim of the article is to assess danger of coal production in mines by risk characteristics. F/N curves for the past 70-years period (1943-2012) and 21-years period (1992-2012) empirically demonstrate the severities and frequencies of fatal accidents in coal mining. The empirical F/N curve is compared to risk tolerability criteria, evidencing unacceptably high level of social risk for coal-mine staff.

Currently, despite the development of alternative technologies, the main source of energy is fossil fuels. A significant proportion of fossil fuels is solid fuels, which, along with the undoubted advantages, have a high fire hazard, including related to their ability to spontaneous combustion. The process of spontaneous combustion has not been sufficiently studied, and the methods of combating it are still far from perfect. Self-ignition has long been an object of scientific research, both in Russia and abroad. For a long time, Irkutsk National Research Technical University has been carrying out comprehensive studies of spontaneous combustion in coal deposits and objects of storage and consumption in Eastern Siberia, aimed at developing methods for early diagnosis and technologies for preventing spontaneous combustion. The article describes the main directions of research and the achievements of the Department of Promecology and Life Safety in this area.

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The existing methods of fire detection are based on the registration of physical phenomena associated with the processes of combustion or smouldering, such as elevated temperature, the release of combustion products, changes in the chemical composition of the air, thermal radiation. Sensor elements of the devices detecting those features stay at a distance from the source of ignition. This result in postponed time of fire registration in comparison with its occurrence. Accordingly, the more time it takes, the more significant damage a fire can cause. The work studies the design of alarm-initiating device developed at Irkutsk National Research Technical University. The device is to detect the evidence of incipient self-ignition at the stage of self-heating before a fire starts, and it is applicable to coal and other substances that a likely to ignite spontaneously. The main feature of the invention is that the temperature measurement and air sampling are carried out directly in the places that are at more risk of self-ignition. In addition, the device is energy-independent due to the original design of the power supply element. Moreover, the measurement of several parameters of the fire environment significantly increases the reliability and credibility of the self-ignition detector.