Abstract
What is already known about this topic?Silica dust and coal dust are the main occupational hazards in coal-fired thermal power plants, which mainly exist in coal transportation workplaces, combustion milling workplaces, and ash removal workplaces.What is added by this report?The overall environmental and personal dust exposure levels decrease with an increase in the capacity of coal-fired thermal power plants, the overall dust hazard risk level of the workforce in coal-fired is Medium.What are the implications for public health practice?Dust management should be conducted in the coal-fired thermal power plant in 300 million watt units because it has the highest dust exposure level, and ash removal workplaces and combustion milling workplaces are key control points for dust hazards.
Highlights
In China, the dominant position of coal-fired power plants in energy production will not change in the short term
There were about 1,000 coal-fired thermal power stations in China, and the dust hazards of thermal power plants have always been a focus of occupational health
The effective implementation of the “National Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Plan (2016–2020)” and the Pneumoconiosis Prevention and Control Action in 2019 by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China have enabled the dust exposure level of thermal power plants to be controlled to a certain extent
Summary
In China, the dominant position of coal-fired power plants in energy production will not change in the short term. The thermal power installed capacity accounts for about 70% of the total installed capacity [1]. Silica dust and coal dust are the main occupational hazards in coal-fired thermal power plants, which could cause pneumoconiosis, silicosis, lung cancer, tuberculosis, and other adverse health effects. The prevalence of occupational lung diseases such as pneumoconiosis and silicosis and its annual increase rates are still high in China [4]. This study aimed to investigate occupational exposure levels of respirable dust and evaluated the occupational health risk levels of key dust-exposed position in six coal-fired thermal power plants of different sizes and regions, providing information that can be used by other researchers in the future in solving dust exposure problems in the working environment
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