Optimal Spray System Designs for Continuous Miner Dust Control

Details

• Personal Author:
  Goodman, Gerrit V. R. ; Jankowski, Robert A.
• Description:
  Water sprays are the most widely-used technology in the coal mining industry for limiting worker exposure to respirable dust. They control exposure by suppressing airborne dust, influencing airflow patterns to keep personnel in clean air, and wetting coal surfaces to prevent airborne dust generation. Optimal spray system design depends upon the proper balance of these three mechanisms. Worker exposures to coal and silica dusts have been reduced by water sprays strategically mounted on the continuous mining machine. These sprays have been placed above and below the cutting boom, in the loading shovel, and along the sides of the continuous miner. When a flooded-bed type scrubber is used for dust control, sprays must be used with caution to avoid inducing airflow beneath the cutting boom which can result in decreased scrubber efficiency. In practice, water sprays have been positioned near the scrubber inlets to contain the dust cloud, thus improving capture of a dust. A high level of effectiveness has been attained in continuous miner dust control, although serious non-compliance can result from the improper application of water spray technology. This paper summarizes past research plus laboratory and in-mine studies with water sprays for effective continuous miner dust control. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Dust Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Coal Mining Coal-mining Dust-control Industrial Hygiene Mine-workers Miners Occupational Exposure Respirable-dust Underground-mining Water Sprays
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRL - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20000131
• Citation:
  Advances in the Prevention of Occupational Respiratory Diseases, 1998 Jul; :1-9
• Contact Point Address:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Editor(s):
  Chiyotani K; Hosoda Y; Aizawa Y
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Advances in the Prevention of Occupational Respiratory Diseases, Proceedings of the 9th International Conference
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d0f289186208a3103003e2aeca6807cd608bc7cc43f4e7d4da4d3105f4fea2773977e08585ac597a5c7110031160515363b93daaf00a95125376d49ca6d6547d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220353/cdc_220353_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 343.63 KB ]