Road Dust Control

Posts Tagged ‘respirable dust’

Haul Road Dust Control is a vital element to the efficient operation of a mining business. Not just with regards to safety but as well to the workers health.  Surface mining operations make use of large off-road haul trucks considerably to transfer material on mining properties. Historical investigation, using the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) emissions factors for unpaved haul roads, has revealed that haul trucks generate the preponderance of dust emissions from surface mining sites, accounting for roughly 78%-97% of all dust emissions. This is even greater with low value haul road dust control programs.

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Haul Road Dust Control is a vital element to the efficient operation of a mining business. Not just with regards to safety but also to the workers health.  Surface mining operations employ huge off-road haul trucks extensively to move material at mining properties. Past research, using the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) emissions factors for unpaved haul roads, has exposed that haul trucks produce the bulk of dust emissions from surface mining sites, accounting for just about 78%-97% of total dust emissions. This is yet greater with low quality haul road dust control programs.

Observations of dust emissions from haul trucks prove that if the dust emissions are uncontrolled, they can become a safety risk by means of impairing the operator’s visibility. This increases the chance for haul truck accidents. However, the greatest long-term health danger of dust generated from hauling operations is due to inhalation of the respirable dust middle diameter <4 micrometers (?m) along with thoracic dust, which is comparable to the EPA’s characterization of PM10 particulate matter with a median diameter <10 ?m. Exposure to respirable dust has always been thought a health hazard at surface mining operations, in particular if silica dust is there.

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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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