Afterdamp

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The toxic gases lingering in a mining operation after an explosion present serious health hazards to workers enduring the atmosphere
2. This term describes the harmful remnants of gases that can accumulate in mines post-explosion, posing risks to miners' health and safety
3. The noxious gases that persist in mines following an explosion can endanger the health of workers exposed to the hazardous environment

Etymology: "Damp" in English mining slang was a term for noxious gas, and "afterdamp" is the gas left behind after the explosion itself. The old miners' word "damp" covered several dangerous gases, each named by its effect: "firedamp" was the explosive methane that caused blasts, while "blackdamp" was the suffocating carbon dioxide-rich air that remained. Afterdamp was the toxic mixture, largely carbon monoxide, that filled workings after a fire or explosion had burned away the oxygen and produced fumes. The word is a plain compound, formed from "after" and "damp," with the sense of the gas that comes after the blast. It belongs to the same vocabulary of coal-mining hazards that gave English words like "firedamp," and it is a technical coinage from the mines rather than an older general word.