Reducing shuttle car operator dust exposure by improving continuous miner blowing face ventilation parameters.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Colinet, Jay F. ; Klima SS ; Organiscak, John A.
• Description:
  Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed laboratory testing to examine and improve airborne dust capture and methane removal performance of flooded-bed scrubbers on continuous mining machines using a blowing face ventilation configuration to reduce respirable dust exposure to shuttle car operators. Several testing conditions were examined to minimize shuttle car operator dust exposure without adversely affecting continuous miner performance and production. Curtain-to-face setback distance of 9.1 m versus 15.2 m (30 ft versus 50 ft), face ventilation airflow of 226.5 m3/min versus 339.8 m3/min (8,000 ft3/min versus 12,000 ft3/min), and the use of side-body-mounted blocking sprays (on versus off) were the three primary parameters compared. Scrubber airflow was set and maintained at 198.2 m3/min (7,000 ft3/min) throughout testing. An examination of slab cuts versus box cuts and the location of the shuttle car (present behind the continuous miner versus not present in the entry) was also performed to demonstrate the effects of these constantly changing scenarios on scrubber performance. Results show that the best blowing face ventilation setup for minimizing shuttle car operator dust exposure for the tested parameters uses a 15.2-m (50-ft) curtain-to-face setback with 339.8 m3/min (12,000 ft3/min) face ventilation while operating the side-body-mounted blocking sprays. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Environmental Exposure Laboratories Methane Mining Occupational Health Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Coal mines; Underground mines; Mining industry; Miners; Worker safety; Worker health; Safety; Dusts; Dust exposure; Exposure levels; Risk factors; Ventilation; Ventilation systems; Ventilation equipment; Laboratory testing; Airborne dusts; Methanes; Mining equipment; Respirable dust; Respiratory equipment; Respiratory protective equipment
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISBN:
  9781510884663
• Publisher:
  Curran Associates, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  413-417
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059748
• Citation:
  2019 SME Annual Conference & Expo and CMA 121st National Western Mining Conference: Smart Mining: Resources for a Connected World, February 24-27, 2019, Denver, Colorado. Red Hook, NY: Curran Associates, Inc., 2019 Aug; 413-417
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methane (CAS RN 74-82-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  2019 SME Annual Conference & Expo and CMA 121st National Western Mining Conference: Smart Mining: Resources for a Connected World, February 24-27, 2019, Denver, Colorado
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/247090/cdc_247090_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]