Dust Control – Soil Stabilization – Erosion Control

Archive for the ‘mining’ 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.

Asarco officials told Rancho Resort residents Friday that an analysis of tailings from their community and a nearby tailings dam showed the dust is not much different from soil samples taken nearby and contain no dangerous levels of metals.

That didn’t seem to satisfy many among the 150 people who attended a meeting that included Asarco and several environmental agencies and experts.

University of Arizona Soil Water and Environmental Science professor Raina M. Maier tried to reassure residents that the dust that blew into their yards and homes is not dangerous based on tahe results of a laboratory analysis that Asarco handed out at the meeting. However, Maier did say the small size of the minute dust particles represent a health problem when inhaled..

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Asarco is promising to modify its tailings-dam construction practices to reduce the odds that dust will blow off its Mission Mine property into neighboring homes in Sahuarita.

The Tucson-based multinational company also is disputing most of Pima County’s allegations of violations stemming from two major dust storms late last year in which mine tailings landed in Sahuarita homes and gardens. The dust storms stirred neighbors’ concerns that the tailings damaged their homes and threatened their health.

Those violations, alleged by the county in December, could prompt hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, the maximum allowable under state law, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry has said. Now the county Department of Environmental Quality will review Asarco’s statement – submitted Wednesday to meet a county deadline – to determine if fines are warranted and, if so, how large they should be.

While Asarco has acknowledged that the tailings dust blocked visibility by more than county standards allow, it said that contrary to the county’s allegations, it did take reasonable precautions to prevent the dust from leaving its property. The county’s allegations failed to account for the high winds blowing on Nov. 12 and Dec. 22 when the violations occurred, the company said.

Late Wednesday, Ursula Kramer, the county DEQ director, said her staff still believes the violations cited in the notices to Asarco were valid.

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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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With the assistance of its attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Chicago, Martin Engineering has again prevailed in a suit for patent infringement initially filed against it by Air Control Science Inc.

Air Control Science Inc., Boulder, CO, was owned by John Fischer, a former Martin Engineering distributor, and is now part of CCC Group, of San Antonio. In the original action, Air Control Science sued Martin Engineering for patent infringement. Martin Engineering countersued, and following trial in March 2008, was awarded costs as the prevailing party.

In a follow-up ruling issued January 19, 2010, U.S. senior district court Judge Richard P. Matsch ruled all three patents asserted were unenforceable for inequitable conduct, found the case “exceptional”, and awarded Martin its attorney fees. Prior to the March 2008 trial, the court had reserved for later determination Martin Engineering’s defense and counterclaim of unenforceability of the patents due to inequitable conduct. Trial to the court of the inequitable conduct counterclaim commenced September 1, 2009 and concluded September 8, 2009.

In January 2005, Air Control Science Inc. sued Martin Engineering in Denver, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,000,533, 6,176,368 and 6,135,171, all relating to dust control systems used in the transfer of bulk material. Martin Engineering denied infringement and asserted defenses of invalidity and unenforceability due to inequitable conduct in procuring and enforcing the patents. In February 2007, Air Control Science, along with the patents in suit was acquired by CCC Group Inc., a San Antonio corporation, which was then substituted as Plaintiff. A three-week trial was conducted in U.S. District Court in Denver in March 2008. On September 17, 2008, Senior Judge Matsch ruled that the ‘533 and ‘368 patents were invalid and that Martin did not infringe the ‘171 patent. Costs were awarded to Martin Engineering as the prevailing party.

This decision, which can be reviewed at www.martin-eng.com/news, is another significant victory for Martin Engineering and its counsel, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, who were adamant in defense of this litigation.

Ed Peterson, chairman of Martin Engineering, expects the company to be awarded in excess of $4 million in litigation fees and expenses as a result of Judge Matsch’s finding of the case as “exceptional” and his strongly worded opinion of inequitable conduct.

Neighbors of a [local,neighboring,neighborhood,community,district,regional,area] [quarry,pit,mine,excavation] and [wildlife,nature,animals] [refuge,safe haven,sanctuary,shelter,harbor] [could,might,may well,may perhaps,may possibly] get [some,a little] [relief,reprieve,liberation] [soon,quickly,shortly] from dust [and,in addition to,as well as,along with] flooding issues.

The [County,Region,District] Board [recently,of late,a short time ago] [approved,accepted] amendments to a [special,extraordinary,unusual]-use [permit,license,certificate,authorization] for the [partnership,company,business,firm,corporation,enterprise,organization,joint venture] of the McGraw Wildlife Foundation and Beverly Materials’ 350-acre gravel [quarry,pit,mine,excavation] east of Route 25 and south of Route 72. [Included,Incorporated,Integrated] in the amendments are [stipulations,conditions,terms,provisos,provisions] that [would,could] [require,necessitate,entail,call for] the [creation,formation,making,construction,establishment] of berms to help [mitigate,alleviate,lessen,ease] flooding, and [implementation,execution] of a dust control [plan,arrangement,strategy,proposal].

Board [member,associate,associate,affiliate] John Fahy, R-West Dundee, [said,alleged,held,believed] [residents,people] in his [district,area,locality,region] are [pleased,satisfied,happy,content,contented] with the [changes,transformations]. A [public,community,civic,municipal] [hearing,trial,inquiry,investigation] was held [recently,of late,a short time ago] in Carpentersville on the [matter,subject,topic,theme,issue].

"While the [residents,people,inhabitants] [might,may] not be [happy,pleased,glad,joyful,cheerful] that there is a mining [operation,business,company,company,venture,undertaking,outfit], they are in [favor,support] of seeing it get [done,completed,finished]," Fahy [said,alleged]. He [said,thought,alleged,believed] the mining [operation,business,venture,outfit] has slowed to a 30-year [process,development,progression].

A [temporary,transitory,interim] berm on the east and south sides of the [nearby,close by,close to] Fox River Bluffs [subdivision,division,sector,section] [would,could] be constructed by [quarry,pit,mine] [operator,operative] Beverly [Materials,Resources,Supplies] or [someone,somebody] hired by the [company,business] [within,inside] six months of the [approval,endorsement,agreement,authorization], according to [county,region,district] [records,minutes,report]. This [would,could] help [relieve,alleviate,reduce,lessen,help,take the edge off] existing drainage [problems,troubles] in the [subdivision,section,division,sector] by redirecting stormwater [runoff,overflow,surplus,overspill] from [about,approximately,roughly,around] 34 acres [around,about,surrounding,covering] the southeast [corner,curve,bend]. [Additional,Extra,Added] drainage work on lots in the Fox River Bluffs [subdivision,division,sector] [would,could] be [done,complete,completed,finished] by Beverly [Materials,Resources,Supplies] or McGraw [Foundation,Charity,Organization].

One [person,individual,character] who spoke on behalf of the mining [company,corporation,business,group] [said,held,alleged] a dust control [plan,strategy,idea,proposal,plot,design] had been submitted [and,furthermore,moreover] that the [conditions,circumstances,situation,state of affairs] were [acceptable,satisfactory,suitable,good enough,adequate,tolerable,tolerable,all right].

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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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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