Abstract
The main sources of methane emission are located in the undermined coal-bearing strata, which is not taken into account by the requirements of regulatory documents when determining the category hazard of coal mines. Gas emission from each undermined source is not equally dependent on the tons of coal mined. The relative gas emission changes during the cleaning work and cannot be a criterion for assessing the gas hazard of the entire mine. The volatility of the gas emission index per unit area of the underworked space, which was formed because of monthly movements of the working faces, was established. In essence, this indicator repeats the dependence of the relative gas content per ton of coal mined, since the area of the underworked space is functionally related to the amount of coal mined for a certain period. Without coal mining, the rate of movement of the working face is equal to zero, and gas emission from a unit area continues for several months. As a result, the considered indicators do not have their specific meaning and, due to their inconstancy, they cannot reliably reflect the gas hazard of mines.