Mining Publication: Assessing Noise and Dust: NIOSH and Vulcan Materials Co. Team Up to Test How Well Helmet-CAM Technology Measures Miner Exposure Levels

Since the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Unimin Corp. developed the Helmet-CAM assessment technology—which integrates video and dust data into an exposure assessment tool—it has proven to be so effective for asssessing respirable dust exposure that is now being expanded and applied to other health contaminants, including noise exposure. Recently, NIOSH partnered with Vulcan Materials Co. to be the first to test and evaluate the Helmet-Cam system for noise assessment at its Havre De Grace mining operation near Baltimore, Md. Kelley Bailey, Vulcan's corporate director of Safety, Health, and Environment, along with a team of individuals from his Industrial Hygiene staff, traveled to the Havre De Grace Operation to learn about the Helmet-CAM system for approximately a 2-hour time period. The system included a video camera attached to the worker's hardhat, as well as a dosimeter and a respirable dust monitor for a combined noise and dust assessment to be made simultaneously. The launch of this new health contaminant assessment was extremely positive for Vulcan's corporate health and safety staff, for the plant's management team, for the miners who actually wore the Helmet-CAM system, as well as for NIOSH personnel involved in this testingl NIOSH is currently in the final stages of modifying the related software (EVADE v2.0) to allow the Helmet-CAM technology to be used wity other types of health assessments, and this approved version should be ready for public release within the next few months.