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The end of their ordeal is very much in sight now for the 33 Chilean miners trapped for more than 2 months, over 2000 feet beneath the Earth’s surface at the San Jose mine in Chile.

The rescue shaft has been dug and part-lined in preparation for the 13 foot tall rescue capsule to be lowered and pulled up again (complete with 1 miner) in a return journey that will take one hour.

Paramedics and a mining expert will be lowered first of all to evaluate the men, and the first extraction should take place in the early hours of Wednesday morning, in a capsule nicknamed Phoenix 1. Each man will then have the opportunity to be reunited with family members, before being flown by helicopter to the city of Copiapo for medical treatment.

Psychological support has been in place for the men during their ordeal far below ground, but it will be needed more so than ever before, for their reemergence into the media frenzy that will surround them. A torrent of emotion awaits the miners, and a deluge of questions from a world media trying to extract every moment of news worthiness from the story. Countless television appearances, expenses paid holidays, job opportunities, and book and movie deals will be on offer for sums of money that will make their minds boggle.

But then what?

In the fickle and fast moving world of the media, a story is chased, reported to saturation level and then shelved as world events move on to the next catastrophe or human interest event. And as for the 33 miners and their families, they will be left to pick up the pieces of their former lives, left to face a changed reality as they attempt to adapt to a strange new world.

May this week see them all successfully and safely brought to the surface once more, and may the very best of luck be with them as they try to put their lives back together again.
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How do you keep 33 men, trapped 700m below the Earth’s surface for a month and likely to be there for at least a couple more months, healthy, motivated and sane?

The advice from NASA scientists at the San Jose mine, near Copiapo, northern Chile is to regulate their day and night sleep patterns, boost their vitamin D intake and introduce a program of exercise as their nutrition improves.

Vitamin D is an essential fat soluble vitamin used in the absorption of calcium for our bodies, and a lack of it can have serious health consequences such as bone softening diseases, muscle weakness, and depression. One source of this vitamin is from foods that we eat, such as oily fish or fortified dairy products, but by far the biggest source of our vitamin D intake is from exposure to sunshine. When the sun's UV-B rays hit the skin, a reaction takes place that enables skin cells to manufacture vitamin D.

Clearly being trapped underground in the dark, and with a diet limited to what can be delivered to them via a narrow tube, the miner’s health is a huge cause for concern  and requires constant monitoring. But this surely must be the easier task, when compared to the job of monitoring and evaluating their mental health and well-being – a far less tangible thing.   
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Work has now begun digging the shaft that will be used to rescue the 33 Chilean miners trapped 700m (2,300ft) below the Earth’s surface.

 A huge Australian-made “Strat 950” excavator will first drill a 33cm diameter hole down to the miners, which will then be enlarged to between 60 and 70cm – wide enough to raise the men one by one in a rescue capsule.

At present, essential supplies are being sent down to the men in small capsules 4 inches (10cm) wide and 60 inches (150cm) long, via three narrow shafts.

Initial physical problems to overcome are making sure the men take onboard enough calories, nutrients and liquids to remain healthy in the dark conditions where temperatures average around 32 degrees Celcius, and humidity is high.

Quick-dry clothing has been sent down to try and combat the skin fungal conditions from which some of the men have been suffering due to the moisture, and mats supplied also for sleep, to protect from the damp ground.

Luckily, one of the trapped men has some medical training and has been able to give his fellow miners vaccinations against tetanus, with flu vaccinations expected to be sent down later in the week.

The physical implications of their entrapment are more obvious and so easier to try and remedy. The mental implications, however, of being entombed in the dark so far below ground for such a period of time are immeasurable.

NASA experts are due to arrive at the mine this week at the request of the Chilean authorities. The team will include a doctor, nutritionist, engineer and a psychologist, all of whom will hopefully be able to adapt some of the lessons learnt from astronaut research and operations in Space, to help the miners trapped beneath the Earth. 
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The 33 trapped Chilean miners
Having already spent nearly 3 weeks trapped 2,200 feet below ground awaiting rescue, the 33 Chilean miners from the San Jose gold and copper mine near Copiapo, Chile will learn this week that they may well be there for many more weeks to come.

Their lifeline is currently a 6 inch wide bore hole drilled down from the surface, which will be used to pass supplies down to them in capsules, each taking about an hour to descend.

NASA experts, having long experience of dealing with astronauts ‘cut-off’ from planet Earth for long periods of time, are being consulted about how to help the men survive their long period of dark isolation, and how to keep them healthy and sane.

Dr Joan Vernikos, former director of NASA’s life-sciences division for almost a decade, and specializing in the effects of stress on people in extreme situations, emphasized in a recent Newsweek article the importance of the miners being able to talk to someone ‘outside’ of their situation, saying that “In a spacecraft or a mine they are helpless; they depend completely on support from the outside world.”

Dr Vernikos further discusses the longer term implications for the men and their families when they eventually emerge from the isolation that they will have experienced, and attempt to readapt to ‘normality’.

To see the full article, click the link below to take you to the Newsweek webpage:

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/26/how-will-chilean-miners-stay-sane.html
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