Mine gas | mining | Britannica
Mine gas, any of various harmful vapours produced during mining operations. The gases are frequently called damps (German Dampf, vapour). Firedamp is a gas that occurs naturally in coal seams. The gas is nearly always methane (CH 4) and is highly inflammable and explosive when present in the air in a proportion of 5 to 14 damp, or carbon monoxide (CO), is a particularly