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Dust control methods in tunnels and underground mines.

Kissell F

J Mine Vent Soc S Afr 2002 Oct; 55(4):129-137

20022964

If controlling dust were a simple matter, dust problems in tunnels and mines would have been eliminated years ago. Unfortunately, most underground dust control methods yield only 25% to 50% reductions in respirable dust. This is the small-size, hard-to-trap dust in the crucial 1-7 micrometer particle size range that enters the inner lungs. Often, 25% to 50% reductions are not enough to achieve compliance with dust standards, and so mine operators must use several methods simultaneously, usually without knowing for certain how well any individual method is working. In fact, given a 25% error in dust sampling, and day-to-day variations in dust generation of 50% or more, the analysis of which control methods are most effective can be very difficult. Nevertheless, over the years, some consensus has emerged on the best dust control particles. This paper provides a control method perspective on how dust in tunnels and underground mines can be reduced by proper use of ventilation, water, and dust collectors.

Dust-collection; Dust-collectors; Dust-control; Dust-control-equipment; Dust-exposure; Dust-particles; Dust-sampling; Dusts; Tunnel-workers; Tunneling; Mining-industry; Respirable-dust; Respiratory-system-disorders; Lung-irritants; Control-methods; Underground-mining; Ventilation; Particulate-dust; Particulates

JMVSA4

20021001

Journal Article

2003

4

0368-3206

PRL

Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods

Journal of the Mine Ventilation Society of South Africa

PA