SPRINGFIELD - The type of air pack that the lone survivor of the Sago mine disaster in West Virginia said failed four of his fellow trapped miners is the model most commonly used in Illinois mines, a state inspector said Thursday.

The air packs at the Sago mine, known as self-contained self-rescuers, were manufactured by Monroeville, Pa.-based CSE Corp. The packs contain an oxygen-producing chemical that is activated by a miners exhalation of carbon monoxide. They are intended to provide a trapped miner with an hour's worth of oxygen, perhaps enough time to escape or find a pocket of clean air.

Art Rice, a state mine safety trainer in Benton, Ill., said the CSE unit is the dominant model in Illinois. He prefers a rescuer manufactured by Ocenco Inc. of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., which contains a bottle of oxygen that can provide 90 minutes of air under strenuous conditions.

With the CSE units, you have to be careful how you exert yourself because it's difficult to get a deep breath of air, Rice said. The Ocenco units have a valve that lets you get as much oxygen as you need, though you have to be careful you don't use it up too fast, so that is one potential drawback there.

Rice said his office does not have the manpower to inspect the devices. It's up to the mines to check them, which they are required to do, Rice said.

The Ocenco devices are used at the Viper Mine north of Springfield, Ill., a sister mine to the Sago. The Sago and Viper mines are owned by Kentucky-based International Coal Group.

A rescue squad from the Viper mine was the first to reach Randal McCloy Jr., the lone survivor of the Sago mine disaster.

Dale Harper, a manager at the Viper mine, said self-contained self-rescuers at his mine are inspected daily.

He said, the miners inspect their own rescuers daily and we weigh them regularly to make sure they are full.

Paul Hampel can be reached at phampel@post-dispatch.com or (618) 659-3639.