The Evolution of Drill Bit and Chuck Isolators to Reduce Roof Bolting Machine Drilling Noise

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ferro E ; Michael R ; Peterson, Jeffrey S. ; Yantek D
• Description:
  Among underground coal miners, hearing loss remains one of the most common occupational illnesses. In response, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts research to reduce the noise emission of underground coal-mining equipment, an example of which is a roof bolting machine. Field studies show that, on average, drilling noise is the loudest noise that a roof bolting machine operator would be exposed to and it contributes significantly to the operators' noise exposure. NIOSH has determined that the drill steel and chuck radiate a significant amount of noise during drilling. NIOSH and the Corry Rubber Corporation have developed a bit isolator that breaks the steel-to-steel link between the drill bit and drill steel and a chuck isolator that breaks the mechanical connection between the drill steel and the chuck. This effectively reduces the noise radiated by the drill steel and chuck and reduces the noise exposure of the roof bolter operator. The paper documents the evolution of the bit isolator and chuck isolator. Laboratory testing confirms that production bit and chuck isolators reduce the A-weighted sound level generated during drilling by 3.7 to 6.6 dB. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Environmental Monitoring Hearing Loss Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mining Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Audiometers Auditory-system Coal-mining Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Hearing-loss Machine-operators Mining-industry Noise-analysis Noise-exposure Noise-levels Noise-measurement Noise-pollution Noise-sources Underground-mining

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OMSHR - Office of Mine Safety and Health Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036543
• Citation:
  2010 SME Annual Meeting and Exhibit, February 28 - March 3, Phoenix, Arizona, Preprint 10-104. Littleton, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., 2010 Feb; :1-7
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  2010 SME Annual Meeting and Exhibit, February 28 - March 3, Phoenix, Arizona, Preprint 10-104
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:64628d28450d6e47ad0cff3e04952db76e71e3aa33f36b403e426e2afaa7640ffa1c300ab237ca9f011cf02a97945795daad0dc2e9bb57eb86527f3dbea2c1e8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/227186/cdc_227186_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 557.17 KB ]