Reducing Worker Exposure to Dust Generated During Longwall Mining

Details

• Personal Author:
  Colinet, Jay F. ; Rider, James P.
• Description:
  Average production from longwall mining operations in the United States has risen from approximately 800 tons per shift in 1980 to over 4,600 metric tons per shift in 1999. Such a large increase in production has the potential to generate significantly more dust. Previous NIOSH research has shown that, on average, respirable dust levels generated by the shearer accounts for 50% of the airborne dust generated during longwall mining. Ventilating air and water are primary controls being used in an effort to reduce longwall dust levels. Longwall operators are applying more air and water than ever before and have expressed concern over reaching maximum practical limits for these controls. Full-scale laboratory tests are being conducted to evaluate the impact on shearer-generated dust levels for changes in face air velocity, water quantity at the shearer, water spray pressure, spray system design, mining height and cutting direction. Results of this research should identify the most appropriate control levels for various operating conditions. In addition, general recommended dust control practices for longwall mining will be discussed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Dust Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Longwall Coal-dust Coal-miners Coal-mining Coal Dust Dust-exposure Dust-inhalation Dust-suppression Dusts Longwall-mining Mine-workers Mining-industry Underground-miners Underground-mining

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISBN:
  8391310914
• Publisher:
  Research & Development Center for Electrical Engineering and Automation in Mining (EMAG)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings ; Book
• 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:
  275-282
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021421
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the Seventh International Mine Ventilation Congress, June 17-22, 2001, Crakow, Poland. S Wasilewski, ed., Crakow, Poland: Research & Development Center for Electrical Engineering and Automation in Mining (EMAG), 2001 Jun; :275-282
• Editor(s):
  Wasilewski S
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0ce0b9d34fa306c433722e2990f78421cfe8a2ddd8798204ecaaddfc5a5ebe4de2ed4bdb118baf9ac00704eabc952f953990cd9775bb3ba5a90a05437f7689b0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220487/cdc_220487_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 292.68 KB ]