Evaluation of Engineering Controls at Bagging Operations to Reduce Exposures to Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cecala, Andrew B. ; Haas, Emily J. ; Louk AK ; Patts, Justin R.
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the former U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) have given a significant effort over the past four decades in researching and developing engineering controls and interventions to reduce mine workers' dust exposures during the bagging and palletizing of industrial minerals. Workers performing manual bagging and palletizing of 50- to 100-pound bags typically have some of the highest dust exposures of all workers at mining and mineral processing operations. This paper will provide an overview of available dust control technologies for bagging operations and present the findings of a recent case study that was conducted at four different industrial sand operations to identify the current types of bagging and palletizing technologies being used and to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing workers' exposures to respirable crystalline silica dust. An evaluation will also be performed to determine if further reductions in respirable dust levels can be achieved by incorporating additional modifications or improvements into the existing technology. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Engineering Environmental Exposure Minerals Mining Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Silicon Dioxide Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Bagging Crystalline Silica Dust Control Dust Exposure Dusts Engineering Controls Exposure Levels Intervention Mine Workers Mining Industry Palletizing Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust Risk Factors Underground Miners Underground Mines Underground Mining Work Environment Workers

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  2524-3462
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  37
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059431
• Citation:
  Min Metall Explor 2020 Aug; 37(4):1055-1064
• Contact Point Address:
  A. K. Louk, Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
• Email:
  ALouk@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:eb9d34e611efea9befc95be60e0ed19f6bbb45521910cc60fc9e956f7a4daff6f06e42eca329b3fc56cea931f9da08ae171f99602912ba8c643e174553d0b01d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215341/cdc_215341_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 823.36 KB ]