Mining Feature: Diesel Technology Workshop

Friday, November 30, 2018

Diesel Technology Workshop - January 23, 2019

MSHA/NIOSH Diesel Partnership
U.S. Department of Labor Auditorium
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC  20210
Wednesday, January 23, 2019

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Diesel Health Effects Partnership sponsored a Diesel Technology Workshop.  As a next step toward developing information and data on approaches to control and monitor miners' exposures to diesel exhaust, the Diesel Partnership organized this workshop to focus on the types of advanced low-emissions diesel technologies – including new engines, equipment, after-treatment systems, and retrofits – that are available for use in underground mines.  The Diesel Technology Workshop built on many of the questions posed in MSHA's 2016 Request for Information (see 81 FR 36826; June 8, 2016). The comment period on the Request for Information has been extended to March 26, 2019.

Agenda

Click on presenter names to view the slides they presented in PDF format. Presentation file hosting courtesy of the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association website.

The workshop included five panels of experts focusing on four main areas of discussion.

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Welcoming Remarks

David Zatezalo, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, MSHA
John Piacentino, Associate Director for Science, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH

8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Context Panel

This panel included a legal practitioner and representatives of MSHA and NIOSH, who will set the stage for the subsequent panels by discussing the introduction and use of diesel-powered equipment in underground mining, health effects research, diesel technology research, the current regulatory framework, the current Request for Information, and formation of the Diesel Partnership.

Edward Green, Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP
Jessica Kogel, Associate Director for Mining, NIOSH
David Weissman, Director, Respiratory Health Division, NIOSH
Patricia Silvey, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, MSHA
Sheila McConnell, Director, Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, MSHA

Moderator:  Edward Green, Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP

9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Break

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.   Current Emissions/Control Technologies Panels

Two panels included representatives of engine manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, and researchers who presented current information regarding advanced low-emissions diesel engines, emission reduction equipment, and exposure reduction systems that were being developed or deployed in underground mines.

Panel 1 – Engine Controls

George Lin, Global Regulatory Affairs, Emissions Regulations and Conformance, Caterpillar
Dave Dunnuck, Executive Director, Research & Engineering, Cummins
Paul Sparenberg, Senior Sales Manager, Construction & Agricultural Engines, MTU America Inc.
Marc Andvik, Senior Engineer, Donaldson Exhaust/Emissions

Moderator:  Tim French, General Counsel, Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lunch (Department of Labor Cafeteria)

12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Current Emissions/Control Technologies Panels (cont.)

Panel 2 – Emission Reduction/Exposure Reduction

Ren Ramer, Mining Engineer, Carmeuse Lime & Stone Inc.
James Noll, Senior Research Chemist, NIOSH
Brian Huff, Chief Technology Officer, Artisan Vehicles

Moderator:  Jeffrey Welsh, Acting Associate Director for Science, Spokane Mining Research Division, NIOSH

1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Current Barriers to Deployment of Technologies Panel

This panel included representatives of the underground mining industry and state and federal mine safety and health regulators, who identified cost barriers and other practical considerations that have impeded the deployment of advance low-emission diesel technologies and equipment in underground mines.  They also discussed examples of where those barriers have been overcome.

Dorian Pia, Regional Manager, Dry Systems Technologies
Steve Cochrane, Maintenance Analyst, Blue Mountain Energy
Arthur Brower, Electrical Engineering Manager, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Mine Safety
Terry Zerr, Vice President, Operations, Mississippi Lime Company
Timothy Watkins, Administrator for Enforcement, MSHA

Moderator:  Mark Ellis, President, Industrial Minerals Association – North America

2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Break

3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Strategies and Path Forward Panel

This panel included representatives of federal agencies, leaders of key non-governmental organizations, and researchers, who discussed potential strategies, including financial incentive programs for accelerating the turnover of older diesel mining equipment and introduction of after-treatment systems. Research gaps were also be identified.

Rashid Shaikh, Director of Science, Health Effects Institute
Aleksander Bugarski, Senior Research Engineer, NIOSH

Moderator:  William Francart, Director, Directorate of Technical Support, MSHA

4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Closing Remarks

Edward Green, Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP

4:30 p.m.  Adjourn

About the organizers

The MSHA/NIOSH Diesel Health Effects Partnership provides a forum for the exchange of scientific findings on the health effects of diesel exhaust and for a review of approaches that may enhance control of diesel exhaust exposures to improve protections for miners in underground coal and metal and nonmetal mines.

For more information on the MSHA/NIOSH Diesel Partnership, please visit: 

• MSHA Diesel Exhaust Health Effects Partnership page
• NIOSH Diesel Exhaust Health Effects Partnership page

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