Amazing infographic

cool

Well, that puts it in perspective.

When I heard they all got sent down tshirts, I thought "That'd be a bitch if it clogged up the pipe and they couldn't clear it.

When items aren't being sent down, do they have oxygen tubing going down there?

I can't begin to imagine what it smells like.

Listening to an interview, somenone was saying they hope a "Lord of the Flies" situation doesn't come up.

Every extra day is another step into uncharted territory.

i think westerners have a hard time trying to get their heads around this, while the situation is not great, many peoples around the world are much more social and more in tune with communal living then those in western style nations

Well said.

I know I can't begin to wrap my head around what it must be like. I'd be going batshit crazy.

The have drilled two same size pipes along side the original pipe, so they can send things down more often.

I'm so glad this information was posted because with everything is going on, like a crazy religious con man, etc. the news about the trapped miners has not been continued.

BBB

Wow indeed! That's a great infographic.

Did you guys see this article?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/world/americas/01chile.html

Really interesting how organized they are. Some really skilled people down there.

It sounds like they are still making the area bigger and more specialized. (I didn't see that in the article above, maybe I read that in a different article or don't remember correctly. It does say that they will be moving the debris. I'm fairly certain they have vehicles and stuff -- it's not a small space they're trapped in.)

I worry about waste and bacteria... seems like they COULD send er waste products up, but they probably have only a limited amount of space/ time and th

Surprised they don't have a power line ran down there by now.

Cycloptichorn

How many guys are down there? That'd be a lot of containers and trips up to get the poop etc out of there! I guess if they sent down take out coffee cups with lids, they could poop into those, that'd work. Otherwise, yuck.

33.

I don't remember why my sentence trailed off..! Probably something like "that's probably not the top priority."

But still, that's gonna add up over time. If there's enough room, maybe they can bury the waste? (Still looking for why I think there are vehicles down there.)

I don't think they are trapped in some tiny space, just can't get out to the surface. My guess is that they can move around a little bit and sanitation issues aren't the end of things yet.

Cycloptichorn

I heard they had a power line sent down so they can light their rent free underground condo.

BBB

I read this morning that they'll be getting electricity quite soon. Also will be getting cigarettes now that ventilation has been improved.

It's a big space for sure... they moved 300 meters deeper in at one point, which means that it's much bigger than 300 meters. They also have a water source. They have light sources and have battery-run devices (when I was looking for vehicles I found something about a "battery-run sweeper" that will help them clear the debris as the rescue hole is bored, that may be what I was thinking of).

Oh, and same report said they'll be getting out a month early...in November. Yay!

Yep. Some more info here:

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/trapped-chilean-miners-jeffrey-kofman-tour-camp-esperanza/story?id=11623898

They're better off than any "Lord of the Flies" group - that group had no contact with the outside world: the moment a ship docked on the island and the captain addressed the stranded boys that storyline collapsed instantly. With 5 liters of clean water per person per day there's enough for washing, so infection shouldn't be a danger. Ventilation is so good that the smokers among the 33 trapped miners now have cigarettes - btw, that's contrary to your link's (dated September 20) assertion. They will all get some Chilean wine to celebrate their national holiday - again contrary to your link.

Drainage is reasonably decent, so waste is disposed of in a reasonably hygienic matter. Yes, at 2,230 ft underground the height above them is over twice the old World Trade Center's (including antennas) and the diameter of the hole they'll all have to be pulled out of means that none of them can gain too much weight (whence the limited calories diet). But the NASA medics, who have studied all kinds of isolation situations in connection with long space missions, don't worry about any of this: they worry about the miners' mental states after the rescue; I thought that was incredibly interesting:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7190536.html