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

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ferro E ; Michael R ; Peterson J ; Yantek D
• Description:
  Among underground coal miners, hearing loss remains one of the most common occupational illnesses. To address this problem, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (NIOSH OMSHR) conducts research to reduce the noise emission of underground coal mining equipment, an example of which is the roof bolting machine. Field studies show that, on average, drilling noise is the loudest noise that roof bolting machine operators would be exposed to, and it contributes significantly to the operators' noise exposure. OMSHR has determined that the drill steel and chuck radiate a significant amount of noise during drilling. OMSHR and the Corry Rubber Corporation (CRC) 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 in turn reduces the noise exposure of roof bolter operators. This 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 Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mining Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety

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• Keywords:
  Audiometers Auditory-system Author Keywords: Noise Control Coal-mining Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Health And Safety Hearing-loss Machine-operators Mining-industry Noise-analysis Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels Noise-measurement Noise-pollution Noise-sources Roof Bolting Underground-mining

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  1075-8623
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; 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:
  429-437
• Volume:
  330
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040458
• Citation:
  Trans Soc Min Metall Explor TP-10-032, 2012 Jan; 330:429-437
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Transactions of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0def19ff81b20b2d018490df0a5900d0a94a80c5abf139dcf36f7e1733b4b52f8121bc31c442d24e056ccaa4f12dcbe59d659c5840988966af9fc30178ad136e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/227414/cdc_227414_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 903.44 KB ]