Best Practice for Dust Control in Coal Mining

摘要

The tremendous human and financial costs resulting from coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) and silicosis in the U.S. underground coal mine workforce are shown by the following statistics: (1) During 1970-2004, CWP was a direct or contributing cause of 69,377 deaths of U.S. underground coal mine workers. (2) During 1980-2005, over $39 billion in CWP benefits were paid to underground coal miners and their families. (3) Recent x-ray surveillance data for 2000-2006 show an increase in CWP cases. Nearly 8% of examined underground coal miners with 25 or more years of experience were diagnosed with CWP. (4) 'Continuous miner operator' is the most frequently listed occupation on death certificates that record silicosis as the cause of death. In light of the ongoing severity of these lung diseases in coal mining, this handbook was developed to identify available engineering controls that can help the industry reduce worker exposure to respirable coal and silica dust. The controls discussed in this handbook range from long-utilized controls that have developed into industry standards to newer controls that are still being optimized. The intent was to identify the best practices that are available to control respirable dust levels in underground and surface coal mining operations. This handbook provides general information on the control technologies along with extensive references. In some cases, the full reference(s) will need to be consulted to gain in-depth information on the testing or implementation of the control of interest. The handbook is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the health effects of exposure to respirable coal and silica dust. Chapter 2 discusses dust sampling instruments and sampling methods. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 focus on dust control technologies for longwall mining, continuous mining, and surface mining, respectively. Finally, it must be stressed that after control technologies are implemented, the ultimate success of ongoing protection for workers depends on continued maintenance of these controls. NIOSH researchers have often seen appropriate controls installed, but worker overexposures occurred because of the lack of proper maintenance of these controls.