Reducing Workers’ Dust Exposure During Bag Stacking in Enclosed Vehicles

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cecala, Andrew B. ; Covelli A ; Thimons, Edward D.
• Description:
  The U.S. Bureau of Mines has evaluated cost-effective systems to ventilate enclosed vehicles being loaded directly with bagged product material at mineral processing plants. This evaluation included both forms of transportation: railcars and trailer trucks. The goal of this research was to lower the dust exposure of workers stacking bags in these enclosed vehicles; these workers usually have the highest dust exposures in the entire processing plant. The problem occurs because there is no mechanical ventilation inside these vehicles. As the vehicle is being loaded, dust concentrations increase to substantial levels because released dust has no means of exiting the vehicle or of being diluted with fresh air. In cases where the dust is hazardous, as with silica sand, this may present a serious health hazard. Dust reductions in and around the bag stacker ranged between 65 and 95 pct when loading both 22.7-Kg (50- lb) and 45.4-Kg (100-lb) bags of ground silica sand into railcars and trailer trucks with this system. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Safety Silicon Dioxide Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Dust-exposure Manual-materials-handling Materials-handling Silica-dusts Ventilation-systems
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  0002-8894
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRC - Pittsburgh Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  99-104
• Volume:
  50
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:10007030
• Citation:
  Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 1989 Feb; 50(2):99-104
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:015befbf6692b383350d8d2a53d93c690e9fb91d0e90020732b98fe83ea2732e23b2bd4e14e87a4dcc42ec60031396a896c34423f6157bbb9dc36fb66e200b2c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219779/cdc_219779_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 500.72 KB ]