Influence of Coal Properties and Dust-Control Parameters on Longwall Respirable-Dust Levels

Details

• Personal Author:
  Colinet, Jay F. ; Organiscak, John A.
• Description:
  Longwall mining operations continue to increase extraction rates and the potential to generate higher amounts of airborne respirable dust (ARD). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has gathered data from underground longwall surveys and laboratory crushing tests to identify the important factors influencing the amount of ARD levels generated. Coal-seam characteristics, operational parameters (i.e., cut sequence, mining height, etc.), extraction rates and dust control parameters (i.e., airflow, water flow, etc.) were examined to determine their influence on ARD levels measured at longwalls during actual mining operations. ARD generated by a laboratory crusher while crushing bituminous coal samples collected from underground longwalls was also examined to determine if there were correlations with coal-seam properties. Results from the longwall and laboratory data collected indicated that low-ash, high-volatile coals (low moist fuel ratio or MFR coals) generate higher amounts of ARD. It was found that face ventilation and water application to the coal product are essential elements to controlling longwall ARD levels. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Coal Coal Mining Dust Mining Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Airborne-dusts Airborne-particles Coal-dust Coal-miners Coal-mining Coal-workers Dust-analysis Dust-control Dust-exposure Dust-particles Longwall-mining Mine-shafts Mine-workers Miners Mining-industry Respirable-dust Statistical-analysis

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  0026-5187
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• 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:
  41-48
• Volume:
  51
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027598
• Citation:
  Min Eng 1999 Sep; 51(9):41-48
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Mining Engineering
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:678903783ebc88630179ec7c3f4c0c496b20638b95b6dbf72590983613cce1e473f0e2fdba9af02cafb66f9b1e6807b36d3b095bc49bd636a52133be8b6d6852
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/221051/cdc_221051_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.52 MB ]