Exposure to Harmful Dusts on Fully Powered Longwall Coal Mines in Poland.

Jarosław Brodny,Magdalena Tutak

doi:10.3390/ijerph15091846

Abstract

The mining production process is exposed to a series of different hazards. One of them is the accumulation of dust which can pose a serious threat to the life and health of mine workers. The analysis of dust hazard in hard coal mining should include two aspects. One is the risk of coal dust explosions, which poses a direct risk of injury or even loss of life, the second is the risk of harmful dust, associated with the possibility of negative health effects as a result of long-term exposure to dust in the worker’s body. The technologies currently applied in underground mining produce large amounts of coal and stone dust. Long-term exposure to dust and crystalline silica may cause chronic respiratory disease. The article presents the results of tests on the dust levels in the area of a fully-powered longwall. The tests were conducted for five longwalls from different hard coal mines. In each of them, the average values of inhalable and respirable dust as well as the percentage content of free silica in the dust were determined in ten selected working positions. Additionally, for the longwall with the highest dust concentration, the levels of dust were determined for the basic activities related to the phases of the technological cycle. The comparative analysis conducted and the results obtained demonstrate large variations in the dust levels in the different areas. The permissible values were significantly exceeded in a number of cases. This poses a great threat to the health of Polish miners. The results obtained indicate that it is necessary to undertake more effective measures in order to improve the working environment of the crew in hard coal mines.

Highlights

The mining production process is accompanied by a series of different hazards
Risk is the chance or probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if exposed to a hazard [1], while a hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects to something or someone under certain conditions at work
Taking into account the current state of knowledge and the serious hazard to human life and health caused by dust, the authors decided to conduct tests aimed at determining the concentration levels of harmful dusts in selected working positions in hard coal mines

Summary

Introduction

The mining production process is accompanied by a series of different hazards. They constitute a significant source of risks and may pose a threat to the life and health of employees and large material losses. Prolonged work in a high-dust environment, where dust levels exceed the permissible values and where, the free crystalline silica fraction is present, may cause serious lung diseases (mainly pneumoconiosis) in miners. This condition is the most commonly reported occupational disease amongst current and former hard coal miners, in Poland and in China and the USA. Taking into account the current state of knowledge and the serious hazard to human life and health caused by dust, the authors decided to conduct tests aimed at determining the concentration levels of harmful dusts in selected working positions in hard coal mines. The related activities should represent one of the pillars in the responsible and sustainable development of this industry

Materials and Methods—Dust Monitoring

Results and Discussion

Conclusions