Respirable Dust in the Mine Environment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Jacobson M
• Description:
  Twenty nine underground coal mines were evaluated in 1968 and 1969 to determine the occupations exposed to the highest concentrations of respirable dust in the face areas of the mines. To study the effect of the mandatory dust control program on the reduction of respirable dust exposure to the miners, a comparative evaluation of dustiness for high risk occupations by mine sections in the 29 surveyed mines was conducted from 1970 to 1972. In the original survey laborers were exposed to the highest dust concentrations, an average of 10.4 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3). Continuous mining loaders were exposed to an average of 6.5mg/m3, loading machine operators to 6.0mg/m3, and cutting machine operators to 5.9mg/m3. Timber workers were exposed to an average of 3.9mg/m3 as were roof bolt workers. Shuttle car operators were exposed to an average of 2.3mg/m3 dust. By 1972 the percentage of sections complying with a 3.0mg/m3 standard was approximately 3 times what it was prior to the dust control program. Approximately 95 percent of the sections sampled were in compliance with the 3.0mg/m3 standard while 77 percent were at or below a dust concentration of 2.0mg/m3. The author concludes that the first goal of the federal respirable dust standards is attainable at this time. There is real promise for achieving the 2.0mg/m3 standard when it becomes effective after December 30, 1972. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Environmental Monitoring Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-measurement Airborne-dusts Employee-exposure Exposure-levels Health-standards Industrial-dusts Occupational-exposure Regulations Work-environment
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  WO - Washington Office
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  5-9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00136827
• Citation:
  Coal mine health seminar. A joint staff conference of the Bureau of Mines and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, IC 8568, 1972 Jan; :5-9
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1972
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Coal mine health seminar. A joint staff conference of the Bureau of Mines and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:246a26bd03f4ac996cab9ad612d628f07da51b051c1b03af7868627f05a97f6a144f387b21f35dd8a4f5ad25b4938e35dcbafd6280e410b882d5b1734b366f62
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219316/cdc_219316_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 222.95 KB ]