Dust Control – Soil Stabilization – Erosion Control

Archive for the ‘coal dust control’ Category

The occupational overexposure to coal mine dust by coal miners continues to occur despite legally enforceable limits, U.S. health officials say.

Deaths occurring among younger persons from coal workers’ pneumoconiosis declined substantially from 1968-2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Wednesday says. Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis is the accumulation of coal dust in the lungs and the tissue’s reaction to its presence.

However, annual years of potential life before age 65 of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis have been increasing since 2002, and mean years of potential life before age 65 per decedent has been increasing since the early 1990s — meaning that workers die at younger age — the study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health finds.

The NIOSH study recommends hazard surveillance, workplace-specific interventions and strengthening of current coal workers’ pneumoconiosis prevention and elimination efforts to protect workers’ health.

At least seven peasant miners have died of black lung disease and hundreds more have been diagnosed with the illness after working in gold mines in northwest China’s Gansu Province, the local health authority said Wednesday.

At least 314 cases had been confirmed in Gulang County of Wuwei City, said Cui Kai, the county’s health bureau chief.

These included 252 cases from Heisongyi town, where six had died. “Twelve cases, including one death, were reported in Huangyangchuan town and another 11 people were diagnosed in Shibalibu Village,” said Cui.

All the victims worked at a gold mine in Subei County in the industrial city of Jiuquan, 1,000 kilometers from their impoverished hometown.

“We received reports of suspected black lung disease from the local government in Heisongyi town in April, and began a medical survey,” said Cui.

The result, however, was shocking. Most patients had struggled with the disease for years. Some could not afford any treatment and simply waited to die.

Chen Dejin, 50, relies on an oxygen bottle 24 hours a day. “The doctor said no medicine would work on him any more,” said his wife, Ji Xinghua.

Chen was diagnosed in 2005. “We have borrowed more than 60,000 yuan (8,824 U.S. dollars) to cover his medical bills,” said Ji.

Chen’s workmate and neighbor Yang Zifa died early last year at the age of 36, leaving behind 70,000 yuan debts. His wife and two sons live on a government benefit of 880 yuan a year.

Most victims blamed the disease on “ill luck,” though they knew it was a result of inadequate protection.

“We wore very thin face masks and ventilation was poor in the pit. At the end of the day’s work we had to clean our nostrils of calcareous dust,” said Shang Zhifa, who was a miner for six years before he was confined to bed with the disease.

Despite the dust, there was no water to wet the drills or bathe themselves.

“Water had to be carried from 200 kilometers away,” said Shang. “About 20 of us shared one small basin of water to wash our hands and faces.”

Gulang County, locked in the remote mountains, is one of the poorest counties in China.

In Heisongyi town, the net per capita annual income was only 1,500 yuan last year, according to Li Cunguo, secretary of the Heisongyi Town Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Poverty forced local peasants into mining, which promised a stable income despite the high risk.

No one had a labor contract. “I asked, but the boss insisted an oral agreement would do,” said Shang. “I wouldn’t have agreed to that had I known the consequences.”

Without a labor contract, it was difficult to claim compensation or refund of medical costs, said Xu Shucai, an official in charge of labor and social security with Gulang county government. “We will work with the local government in Jiuquan to find a solution.”

Meanwhile, he said the county government had promised an annual allowance of 718 yuan for each patient.

One miner owner has denied the work caused the illness and he blamed tobacco.

“Mining cannot cause black lung disease,” said Pan Zhanlin, a business tycoon who owns the Deyi Mining Co. in Jiuquan, where some of the patients had worked. “They had lung problems because they smoked too much.”

Black lung, or pneumoconiosis, is a chronic occupational disease by the prolonged breathing of mine dust. There is no specific treatment for the ailment, according to Chinese Medical Association.

The Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) commemorated the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Mine Act), which instituted the strongest and most comprehensive occupational safety and health protections that had ever been enacted in the country.

The Mine Act was born out of a mining disaster that occurred in November 1968, when 78 miners died in an explosion at Consolidation Coal’s No. 9 mine in Farmington, W.Va. Members of the mining community, angered by the continuing toll being taken on the lives of miners, rallied together and called for sweeping changes. Widows of some of the fallen miners even traveled to Washington to testify before Congress.

“The Farmington disaster changed the course of history and transformed mine safety and health in this country,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “In the end, those who perished led the way to legal reforms that spared the lives of the thousands of miners who would follow.”

“Like many others working in the mining industry 40 years ago, I remember the significant changes that passage of the Mine Act would make possible in the coming years,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “Over time, we have witnessed considerable improvements in mine safety and health, as well as in the lives of miners and their families – all brought about by this landmark legislation.”

The Mine Act increased enforcement powers at mines, mandated four complete inspections of underground coal mines and two complete inspections of surface mines annually, and established mandatory fines for all violations and criminal penalties for certain violations. It also established safety standards aimed at curbing mine accidents such as roof falls, mine fires and explosions, as well as haulage, electrical and other accidents. It designated limits on unhealthy coal mine dust and, for the first time, provided government benefits for miners disabled by black lung disease.

MSHA plans to further commemorate the 40th anniversary in March, when the new legislation went into effect.

Neighbors of the tailing piles at Asarco’s Mission Mine are complaining that the wind-blown dust is hurting their health by aggravating asthma and other respiratory problems leading to coughing, clogged sinuses and wheezing.

Some want federal and state regulators to shut down the mine, at least until it’s clear that the problem of blowing tailings dust is fixed for good.

At a public meeting in Sahuarita Friday, an Asarco official apologized for the two incidents last November and December in which tailings blew into the neighboring Rancho Resort and led Pima County officials to slap the company with violation notices. But Asarco’s Tom Aldrich said company efforts to fix the problem already are working, since tailings didn’t blow off the site during 50 mile per hour winds as recently as Jan. 21.

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Under scrutiny since the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released its 2006 Combustible Dust Hazard Study, General Industry Housekeeping provision 1910.22 has been taken to task by OSHA. The amendment comes as a result of employers’ misinterpretation of housekeeping standards already included in the provision.

In a hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, OSHA assistant secretary Edwin G. Foulke Jr. said the provision will “state more explicitly what has always been true–that the standard applies to accumulations of dust that contribute to an explosion hazard. This clarification of language in the provision will eliminate any doubt that employers are obligated to prevent combustible dust from accumulating in their workplaces.”

Although OSHA’s General Industry Housekeeping provision 1910.22 does not specifically address housekeeping and fugitive dust, other OSHA standards do and suggest that operations “eliminate the use of compressed air jets to clean accumulated dust from equipment or clothing, and substitute a vacuum-cleaning system.”

However, there is a noted lack of regulation regarding the handling of fugitive dust for general industry, including food, rubbers, metal, pharmaceuticals, plastics, paint and synthetic organic chemicals.

Vacuum Cleaning = First Defense Against Dust

In nearly all industries, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends vacuum cleaning as the preferred first defense method of controlling fugitive dust. NFPA 654 states “vigorous sweeping or blowing down with steam or compressed air produces dust clouds.” Despite NFPA and OSHA recommendations, many companies still use air compressors and brooms to clean surrounding equipment, and areas of dust and debris. This may be due to the misconception about industrial vacuum cleaners and sheer oversight when reviewing production processes. The problem with using brooms and air compressors is that they just blow the dust around, resulting in small particles that settle onto elevated surfaces.
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The dust from a mine is significantly different from the dust you find in your home. Dust in your home primarily consists of dead skin while mine dust is almost exclusively a mineral in a fine powder form.

Most written definitions of mine dust include the following: dust from drilling, blasting, smashing or handling of rock. The majority of the dust created by one of these activities are too large to stay in the air for an extended period of time and account for about 40 percent of all dust created at a mine site. The remainder is less than 10 micrometers in size. The majority of these particles is less than 2.5 micrometers and come from the exhaust of equipment used on the mining site.

The smallest size particle is what is most hazardous to the population’s health. The larger dust particles are an eye sore and are cost a lot to clean up, but are less hazardous to one’s health.

The smaller particles do make certain health hazards that include respiratory problems due to the fact that they are in the air that is breathed in to the lungs. This can be minimized if mining personnel were to wear masks designed to filter out the dust.

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Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean condemned the killing of an activist opposed to a Canadian mine during the last day of a state visit to Mexico while protesters chanted "Canada, get out."

About 50 supporters of Mariano Abarca Roblero were kept about 200 metres from a Mayan women’s collective where Jean visited the colonial town of San Cristobal de Las Casas, about five hours from the mine’s location.

"We find it deplorable, inexcusable," Jean said in a statement Wednesday.

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An environmental advocacy group known as Environment Virginia released a report this week that identifies Alexandria’s Mirant coal-fired power plant as the second dirtiest in Virginia. The report, titled "America’s Biggest Polluters," used carbon dioxide emissions data from 2007 to conduct an analysis of the plants and create a ranking system. The finding comes at a time when city officials are coordinating with Mirant to erect a 30-foot windscreen in an effort to control fugitive dust from the plant.

"It’s very disappointing, but I must say it’s not surprising," said Councilwoman Del Pepper. "I’m hopeful that with the $ 34 million we got to improve the plant will address some of the problems."

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U.S. Department of Labor
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)

Respirable coal mine dust can cause lung diseases such as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), emphysema, silicosis, and bronchitis—known collectively as black lung. Black lung can lead to lung impairment, permanent disability, and even death. While there is no cure for black lung, there are important and potentially life-saving measures that MSHA requires to be undertaken to reduce exposure to respirable coal mine dust and prevent disease. Even though these measures have been required for many years, new cases of black lung disease continue to occur among the nation’s coal miners, even in younger miners.

Recently, MSHA conducted a targeted enforcement initiative that focused on miners’ exposures to respirable coal mine dust at selected underground coal mines. As a result of the lessons MSHA learned during this initiative, the agency requests that underground coal mine operators conduct audits of their respirable dust monitoring and control programs and address any deficiencies.

Dust sampling programs did not adequately address proper maintenance of sampling equipment or ensure that samples are collected at the required times (either on shifts or days).

Many mining operations implement a haul road dust control program in order to decrease the level of fugitive dust in the work area. 

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FANQUIP’S Mining Division provides mines and quarries with total conceptual planning and custom design, heavy duty products, installation of ventilation and air control systems.

Company specialists can advise on strategic air control at the development stage or integrate into plants which have been in operation for some length of time. Fanquip’s Mining Division focuses on temperature control, ventilation, management of confined space environments, dust control  both in suppression and collection, and management of toxic gases and emissions.