Mining Publication: Forty Years of NIOSH/USBM-developed Control Technology to Reduce Respirable Dust Exposure for Miners in Industrial Minerals Processing Operations

NIOSH has long realized that occupational overexposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust can lead to the development of silicosis, an incurable and often fatal lung disease, but it can also result in health problems that include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic renal disease. The purpose of this document is to highlight a number of effective dust-control techniques that have been developed and tested over the past 40 years by NIOSH and the USBM since the implementation of the 1977 Mine Safety and Health Act.