Dust Control Research Articles

Assessing the Feasibility of a Multifaceted Intervention Package for Improving Respiratory Health of Textile Workers: Findings From the MultiTex Pilot Study in Karachi, Pakistan.

We piloted the development and implementation of a multifaceted intervention package for improving respiratory health among textile workers using a pre-post design at six mills in Karachi. The intervention, implemented following a baseline survey (n = 498), included health and safety training of workers and managers, promotion of cotton dust control measures, and the provision of facemasks. Follow-up surveys were conducted at 1, 6, and 12 months post-intervention. Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) scores and respiratory symptoms were assessed through a questionnaire and spirometry was conducted. The intervention was provided to 230 workers and led to an improvement in KAP scores that was more likely among workers with a higher educational status, spinners, smokers, those with a permanent employment status, working in morning shifts, and with ⩾5 years of textile experience. We found the intervention acceptable and feasible in these textile mills henceforth, trials are required to determine its effectiveness.

Hierarchical fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of prevention and control level of occupational hazards in coal mines

Objective: To establish an evaluation model for occupational hazard prevention and control levels in coal mines, to explore the combination of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, to evaluate the overall situation of occupational hazard prevention and control in coal mines. Methods: In November 2021, Collect information of occupational hazards and their prevention and control status in 30 coal mines. AHP model was first constructed for the elements of occupational hazard prevention and control in coal mines. Then, the AHP and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was applied to comprehensively evaluate and grade the occupational hazard prevention and control in coal mines, using the principles of maximum membership and weighted average. Results: The hierarchical fuzzy comprehensive evaluation results for typical coal mine were basically consistent with its occupational hazard prevention and control situation. The dust prevention and control situation was good, the noise prevention and control situation is average, the occupational health monitoring situation was good, the occupational health management situation was average, and the overall level of occupational hazard prevention and control was good. Conclusion: The hierarchical fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model for occupational hazard prevention and control levels, combined with the principles of maximum membership and weighted average, can objectively evaluate and reflect the overall situation of occupational hazard prevention and control in coal mines.

Influence mechanism of small molecular organics on the wettability of coal

ABSTRACT The investigation into the impact of small molecular in coal on its wettability holds significant importance in the field of coal dust control. In this study, eight coal structure models with different small molecules were constructed to analyze the effects of small molecules on the adsorption of H2O in coal, the impact on pore structure, and the interactions between small molecules and H2O. The research results indicate that Toluene and C15H32 had a promoting effect on coal wetting properties, mainly through their interactions with H2O to enhance the wetting characteristics of coal. However, dihydrofuran-2(3 H)-one had an inhibitory effect on coal wetting properties, mainly by altering the pore structure of coal to suppress the adsorption of H2O. The strength of interactions between the three small molecular and H2O was ranked from high to low as follows: dihydrofuran-2(3 H)-one > Toluene > C15H32. There was charge transfer between the three small molecular and H2O, with the amount of transferred charge ranked from large to small as follows: dihydrofuran-2(3 H)-one > Toluene > C15H32. Small molecules affected the wetting properties of coal from both their interactions with H2O and the impact on pore structure.

Health and Safety Executive research on wood dust exposure controls in British manufacturing.

To generate new intelligence on occupational exposure to wood dust in woodworking manufacturing activities in Britain, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) performed 22 occupational hygiene site visits to assess exposure and exposure controls between 2014 and 2017. The work aimed to characterise good practice and therefore sites with a poor health and safety record, as identified from HSE inspection records, were not invited to participate. Sites selected covered furniture production, joinery, saw milling, and boat building and repair. Twenty-three follow-up telephone interviews were also carried out across 15 of the companies with supervisors and managers to explore how they tried to promote good practice among the workforce, and if there are any potential challenges encountered. The aim of the interviews was to gain a better understanding of how to enable organisations to improve the management of wood dust exposure. This study found that 6.0% of all wood dust exposure measurements (15 out of 252) were above 5 mg/m³, and 17.6% of exposures to hardwood dust or mixtures of hardwood and softwood dust (38 out of 216) were above 3 mg/m³ (the then current and future workplace exposure limits). Sanding, cleaning, and maintenance activities were of particular concern. Improvements to exposure controls are required, in particular, improvements to local exhaust ventilation controls for hand-held power tools and hand sanding. The management, selection, and use of respiratory protective equipment were poor. All the managers and supervisors recognised that exposure to wood dust can pose serious health risks, and that controls were crucial to protecting workers' health. The findings from the telephone interviews suggest that supervision and provision of information about the health effects of exposure to wood dust were common approaches that organisations used to raise awareness and promote good practice, in relation to managing wood dust exposure. Worker attitudes towards controls, such as perceptions that they hinder task completion and habitual ways of working, were identified as factors influencing the use of controls. Risk communication approaches that focus on increasing workers' awareness of their susceptibility to ill-health using credible sources, such as peers, can help enhance the uptake of messages on the use of controls. Financial constraints were identified as a challenge to improving the control of wood dust, particularly for small companies.

Beyond Conventional Monitoring: A Semantic Segmentation Approach to Quantifying Traffic-Induced Dust on Unsealed Roads.

Road dust is a mixture of fine and coarse particles released into the air due to an external force, such as tire-ground friction or wind, which is harmful to human health when inhaled. Continuous dust emission from the road surfaces is detrimental to the road itself and the road users. Due to this, multiple dust monitoring and control techniques are currently adopted in the world. The current dust monitoring methods require expensive equipment and expertise. This study introduces a novel pragmatic and robust approach to quantifying traffic-induced road dust using a deep learning method called semantic segmentation. Based on the authors' previous works, the best-performing semantic segmentation machine learning models were selected and used to identify dust in an image pixel-wise. The total number of dust pixels was then correlated with real-world dust measurements obtained from a research-grade dust monitor. Our method shows that semantic segmentation can be adopted to quantify traffic-induced dust reasonably. Over 90% of the predictions from both correlations fall in true positive quadrant, indicating that when dust concentrations are below the threshold, the segmentation can accurately predict them. The results were validated and extended for real-time application. Our code implementation is publicly available.

Analysis on occupational dust or harmful gas exposure and protection in people aged 40 and above in China, 2019-2020

Objective: To understand the current status of occupational exposure to dust or harmful gases and occupational protection in people aged ≥40 years in China, and provide data support for the prevention and control of occupational dust or harmful gas exposure. Methods: The data were obtained from the surveillance for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adults aged ≥40 years selected by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 125 surveillance points in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) during 2014-2015 and 2019-2020, and relevant information about occupational dust or harmful gas exposure and protection measures were collected through face-to-face interviews. Occupational dust or harmful gas exposure rate and occupational protection rate were estimated by using weighting complex sampling methods, and then the results were compared. Results: From 2014 to 2015 and from 2019 to 2020, a total of 71 061 and 71 023 individuals aged ≥40 years were surveyed, respectively. The rate of occupational exposure to dust or hazardous gas was 33.8% (95%CI: 29.9%-37.7%) during 2019-2020. The occupational exposure rate was higher in men than in women and in rural residents than in urban residents. With the increase of education level, the rate of occupational exposure to dust or harmful gas showed a downward trend. The protection rate against occupational dust or hazardous gas exposure was 47.9% (95%CI: 43.2%-52.6%) during 2019-2020. Compared with 2014-2015, the rate of occupational exposure to dust or hazardous gas decreased by 10.7 percentage points in different gender, area and occupational groups and the occupational protection rate increased by 21.9 percentage points during 2019-2020. The decrease in occupational exposure rate was higher in western China than in eastern and central China, and the increase in occupational protection rate was higher in western China than in eastern and central China. Conclusions: The rate of occupational exposure to dust or harmful gas decreased and the rate of occupational protection against dust or harmful gas exposure increased in China during 2019-2020. However, about one-third of the population still suffer from the occupational exposure, and less than half of them take protection measures. It is necessary to pay more attention to the key populations, such as workers with lower cultural level and rural migrant workers, in occupational health practice.

Effects of water-based SiO2 nanofluids on the wettability of coal dust and particle deposition characteristics

Coal wettability plays a crucial role in the prevention of coal mine dust and associated disasters such as coal and gas outbursts. Water-based SiO2 nanofluids have emerged as promising wetting agents because of their sustainable wetting effects on coal. However, the current research on the wetting characteristics of nanofluids has predominantly focused on small coal fragments, with limited studies on coal dust. This study aims to investigate the influence of water-based SiO2 nanofluids with varying particle concentrations on the wettability of coal dust via physical experiments. The findings revealed that the modification by nanofluids significantly reduced the contact angles of the coal dust particles with the particle size ranges of 60–80, 80–100, and 100–150 mesh, compared to the initial contact angles. Moreover, higher particle concentrations resulted in smaller contact angles. Notably, the wetting effects of the nanofluid modification on coal dust were particularly prominent for larger particles. Furthermore, compared with water immersion, nanofluid modification demonstrated a significantly more positive impact on the wettability of coal dust. Notably, the SiO2 nanoparticles exhibited a wide distribution and substantial adsorption capacity on the coal surface, enabling the formation of a hydrophilic structure coverage. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the wetting behavior of coal dust when exposed to water-based SiO2 nanofluids. These findings underscore the potential of nanofluids to enhance coal dust prevention and control, and provide valuable insights for future research in this field.

Experimental study on the charge characteristics and dust reduction performance of inductive electrostatic dual-fluid nozzle for dust pollution control

Dust caused by production activities is the main reason for endangering the production safety and workers' health. To investigate the potential ability of electrostatic dual-fluid nozzles for efficient control of dust pollution, an inductive electrostatic dual-fluid nozzle using profiled electrodes has been designed. From the charge experimental results, the critical voltage of the nozzle is determined to be 12 kV. The maximum droplet charge to mass ratio is achieved when brass electrodes are used. Droplet size and dust reduction experiments show that electrostatic forces enhance the secondary atomization effect and achieve the best parameters at 0.3 MPa water pressure and 0.6 MPa air pressure compared to uncharged dual fluid spray. This nozzle offers a significant improvement in dust reduction efficiency, it can reach more than 78%, an improvement of 18.2% over the uncharged spray. The research results can provide theoretical support for the applications in dust control of inductive electrostatic dual-fluid nozzles.

Research on coal dust pollution prevention and control based on co-solvent association: Macro-micro experiments and molecular dynamics simulations

In order to better solve the environmental pollution caused by coal dust flying. In this paper, the improvement of wetting and hydrophilicity of coal dust by the binary association solution of surfactant and chelating agent tetrasodium iminodisuccinate (IDS) was studied from the perspective of experiment at the Microcosm–macrocosm analogy levels. To further explore the synergistic mechanism between chelating agents and surfactants, a coal surfactant/chelating agent water three-phase system was constructed using molecular dynamics simulation, and the motion trends of each molecule in different solution systems were analyzed in depth. The combined analysis revealed that sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate had the best wetting performance when associated with IDS. It increases the surface pores and specific surface area of coal, and the surfactant is more widely adsorbed on the surface of coal dust. The proportion of oxygen-containing hydrophilic groups in coal dust increases, achieving improvement in wetting and hydrophilicity. Overcoming the problem of difficult wetting of coal dust has important practical significance for spray dust reduction and prevention of coal dust pollution.

Evidence-based dust exposure prediction and/or control tools in occupational settings: A scoping review protocol.

Workplace atmospheric exposure monitoring is the standard method to assess and control hazardous dust exposure; however, feasibility and cost constraints often limit its application. In recent decades, evidence-based tools supporting exposure modelling and control banding have been developed to aid in predicting and/or controlling occupational exposure to various contaminants. However, there is limited information on the availability and applicability of evidence-based tools for predicting and/or controlling occupational dust exposure, as well as on the methods for evaluating these tools across different exposure scenarios. Therefore, this planned scoping review aims to identify existing evidence-based tools for dust exposure predicting and/or controlling and to present evaluation approaches. We will employ the scoping review methods developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). The search will be conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, in addition to grey literature from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and advanced Google searches. Studies will be included if they report evidence-based tools for predicting and/or controlling dust exposure using quantitative or semi-quantitative designs and provide a detailed explanation of the methods used for tool development. There will be no restrictions on publication date or geographical location; however, only studies published in English will be considered. Studies focusing exclusively on dust exposure in environmental settings will be excluded. Each member of the review team will screen titles, abstracts, and full texts independently and in collaboration, based on the inclusion criteria. The extracted data will encompass details such as author, title, country, accessible platforms, method/tool names, intended users, types of dust, and occupational settings. Descriptions of the identified tools will include numerical data and narrative summaries to ensure a comprehensive overview. OSF (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/S6EZJ).

Shelterbelt construction in the scenario of coordinated development of mountain, river, forest, farmland, lake, grassland, and sandy land ecosystems in semi-arid wind-sand areas: Principles and methods

We established the systematic concept framework of shelterbelt construction, with "shelterbelts" as the core concern in the construction of integrated ecosystems including mountain, river, forest, farmland, lake, grassland and sandy-land in semi-arid wind-sand areas. In the construction of shelterbelts, it is necessary to adhere to the principles of scientific coordination and systematic management, considering the carrying capacity of water resources, the demand for dust control, the greening and beautification effects, as well as the principle of improving economic benefits. In practice, the construction methods should base on the types and temporal-spatial distribution of shelterbelts, following the shelterbelts construction theory and technology to form different structure and service functions, achieving the functional goals of shelterbelts. By focusing on the key elements including people, forests, grass, fields, water, and sand, we put forward the timeliness, practicality, and scientificity of shelterbelt construction, proposing construction methods for farmland shelterbelts, pastureland shelterbelts, windbreak and sand-fixing forests and protective forest around village (city), which might provide production technical support for the high-quality construction of green ecological barrier in northern China.

Olivin geopolymer as a potential green sustainable dust control

Olivin geopolymer as a potential green sustainable dust control

Prevalence and determinants of evidence of silicosis and impaired lung function among small scale tanzanite miners and the peri-mining community in northern Tanzania.

Limited data among miners in Tanzania suggests prevalence of silicosis, obstructive lung disease and restrictive lung disease to be around 1.6%, 1.9% and 8.8% respectively. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with silicosis and impaired lung function among tanzanite mining community in northern Tanzania. We conducted a cross-sectional study, involving 330 miners and 330 peri-mining community members in Mererani mines. Silicosis was defined based on study participants' history of exposure to mining dust and digital chest radiological findings with reference to the 2011 ILO classification of pneumoconiosis. Impaired lung function was determined by spirometry using American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society recommended system 3. Association between evidence of silicosis/impaired lung function and presumed risk factors were determined using binary logistic regression analyses. The study found that 99/330 (30.0%) of miners had silicosis. Total of 65 (9.8%) participants had impaired lung function, of whom 29 (4.4%) had Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 32 (4.8%) had restrictive lung disease and 4 (0.6%) had both obstructive and restrictive lung diseases. Unexpectedly, miners who have worked for more than 10years and those worked for 6 to 10 years had 64% (aOR 0.34, CI = 0.17-0.67, p = 0.002) and 48% (aOR 0.52, CI = 0.30-0.89, p = 0.018) lower odds of having silicosis respectively compared those worked for up to 5 years. Participants with more than 10 years of work duration had more than 3-times higher odds of impaired lung function compared to those who had worked for up to 5 years (aOR 3.11, CI = 1.53-6.34, p<0.002). We found a concerningly high prevalence of silicosis despite short durations of exposure to occupational silica dust. Immediate dust control measures including deployment of wet drilling, wearing of personal protective equipment and regular monitoring of dust exposure need to be enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Authority-Tanzania.

Ash conveying system upgrade from hydraulic to pneumatic system in a 550MW coal-fired power plant in Taiwan

The paper presents a comprehensive study on the ash handling system upgrade from a hydraulic conveying system to a pneumatic system in a 550 MW coal-fired power plant located in Taiwan. The ash pond used to dispose of ash from the economizer and air preheater is almost full due to having been in service for more than forty years. An alternative location to dispose of the ash is sought. The design process of finding the new location and the equipment to be used is explored. Some options for the new economizer and air preheater ash disposal site, including building a new silo or using an existing silo, are taken into consideration in terms of design, cost, and timing of execution. The project’s execution procedure is reviewed, taking into account aspects of system integration, equipment installation, and commissioning. The primary objective of this paper is to detail the design, implementation, and outcomes of the ash handling system upgrade. This upgrade is accomplished in an effort to enhance operational efficiency, reduce maintenance requirements, and improve environmental compliance. The study explores the motivations behind adopting pneumatic conveying technology, focusing on its advantages over hydraulic systems, such as reduced maintenance needs and improved dust control. The case study provides insight into the lesson learned and recommendations for similar ash conveying system upgrades in other coal-fired power plants.

Physicochemical characteristics and oxidative potential of size-segregated respirable coal mine dust: Implications for potentially hazardous agents and health risk assessment

The health risks associated with exposure to respirable dust in coal mines have been attracted much attention by an increasing number of researchers. However, the accurate identification of potentially hazardous agents in respirable dusts and the evaluation of the potential health risks arising from it still remains controversial to varying degrees. A comprehensive understanding of the physicochemical properties of respirable dust is a prerequisite and an important basis for resolving this controversy. Therefore, in this study, the particle size distribution and morphology, pore structure, mineralogical and geochemical patterns, and oxidative potential (OP) of respirable coal mine dust were comprehensively investigated. Stepwise multiple linear regression was employed to identify dust components driving OP, such as anatase, tobelite, quartz, and ankerite, in respirable coal mine dust, along with Na, Ni, Se, W, and As. On this basis, we performed a single-factor risk prediction for different coal mines by considering factors that may impact miners' health, with the analyses yielding somewhat contradictory results. Therefore, a multifactor integrated prediction model is proposed using an entropy-based technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution to categorize coal mines in the study area into three risk categories, high-, medium-, and low-risk dust mines, which is important for the hierarchical classification and control of coal mines and for formulating appropriate dust prevention and control measures.

Study of highly efficient control and dust removal system for double-tunnel boring processes in coal mines

To reduce coal dust pollution during double-tunnel boring processes in coal mines, an efficient control and dust removal system has been established and studied by combining theoretical analysis, experimental investigations, numerical simulations, and on-site measurements. The self-developed new spiral air curtain generator can quickly form multiple axial and radial dust control air curtains that cover the entire tunnel section. When combined with a wet-type dust removal fan, they form an efficient dust control and elimination system for double-tunnel boring in coal mines. The airflow and dust control effects of the highly efficient dust control and removal system, single press-in ventilation, and ventilation with dust removal fans were compared. The results show that with the proposed system, the dust concentrations in the boring tunnel and supporting tunnel can be controlled within 18 and 15 m distances from the working face, respectively. The dust control efficiency is increased by 82 % and 85 %, respectively. Hence, the dust concentrations in the coal mine are effectively reduced.

Numerical simulation study on dust transport law in antibiotic raw material drug powder screening workshop

To study the distribution pattern of drug dust in the antibiotic raw material drug powder screening workshop and improve the working environment, we used COMSOL Multiphysics 6.0 software to simulate and study the airflow distribution and dust transport law in the powder screening workshop. The results indicated that the dust in the powder screening workshop diffused rapidly with the airflow and reached a stable state at the 100th second. After the dust migrated to a stable state, the area with excessive dust concentration (dust concentration>6 mg/m(3)) widely distributed, mainly distributed in the middle and lower parts of the wall opposite the air inlet from the rotary vibrating screen. The distribution of dust showed a characteristic of local aggregation, and dust transport was related to airflow movement, which was prone to aggregation in areas with low airflow velocity and eddy currents. On the plane of the human respiratory belt height (h=1.5 m), the concentration near the dust producing surface was high, with local concentrations exceeding 32 mg/m(3). It was the key area for dust prevention and control. And the working environment can be improved by changing the air flow distribution in the workshop or other dust reduction methods.

Microscopic deposition-property relationships in microbial-induced consolidation of coal dusts

In recent years, the preparation of new microbial dust suppressants based on microbial induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) technology through enriched urease-producing microbial communities has become a new topic in the field of coal dust control. The deposition of CaCO3 was the key to suppress coal dust. However, deposition characteristics in the field is not sufficient and the relationship between deposition characteristics and erosion resistance is not clear, which hinders the development of engineering application of new microbial dust suppressant. Therefore, based on X-CT technology, this paper observed and quantified micro-deposition of bio-consolidated coal dust with different calcium sources. Furthermore, a conceptual framework for deposition was proposed and its correlation with erosion resistance was revealed. The results showed that CaCO3 induced by calcium chloride and calcium lactate was aggregate deposited. Aggregate deposited CaCO3 was small in volume, showed the distribution of aggregation in the central area and loose outside, and mosaiced pores. CaCO3 induced by calcium nitrate was surface deposition due to attached biomass. Surface deposition was mostly large volume CaCO3 expanding from the inside out, which could cover coal dust to a high degree and completely cemented pores. In addition, the threshold detachment velocity of coal dust cemented by surface deposition was increased by 17.6–19.1% compared to aggregate deposition. This depended on the abundance and strength of CaCO3 bonding between coal dust particles under different deposition. The two-factor model based on porosity and CaCO3 coverage can well express relationship between erosion resistance and depositional characteristics. Those results will help the engineering application of MICP technology in coal dust suppression.

Research on the optimal parameters of wind curtain dust control technology based on multi factor disturbance conditions

For the current coal mining surface air curtain dust control technology to control the low efficiency of the problem of dust, numerical simulations were used to study the effects of three factors on dust control efficiency: air outlet width, air volume, and placement angle, to improve the effectiveness of its application. The results show that the air outlet width and the air volume have a significant effect on dust control efficiency, while the placement angle has less of an effect. As the air outlet width increases from 50 mm to 250 mm, the peak wind speed of the wind curtain gradually decreases and the dust removal efficiency first increases and then decreases. As the air volume increases from 30 m3/min to 150 m3/min, the peak wind speed of the wind curtain increases significantly and the dust control efficiency first increases and then decreases, changing significantly. As the angle of placement increases from 5° to 25°, the wind speed of the wind curtain essentially remains the same, and the dust removal efficiency increases slightly before decreasing. The optimum performance for the wind curtain in controlling dust is achieved when the air outlet width is 150 mm, the placement angle is 10°, and the air volume is 90 m3/min. Field tests show that applying this technology has resulted in a significant reduction in the dust concentration from 857.26 to 68.83 mg/m3 in the working area of the shearer driver, representing a dust control efficiency of 92%. This technology has greatly improved the working conditions in coal mining areas.

Study on the cooperation mechanism of urea-hydrolysis bacteria and biosurfactant bacteria for dust suppression

To solve the problems of poor wettability and difficult penetration of microbial dust suppressants caused by the strong hydrophobicity of coal dust, a biosurfactant bacteria (previously screened in coal dust, strain P) and a urea-hydrolysis bacteria (also screened in coal dust, strain X) were co-cultured. In addition, the growth characteristics, mineralization, and emulsification performance of the compound bacteria under different inoculation sequences (P14X, X14P, PX, P24X, and X24P) were studied. Results showed that strain P may inhibit the diffusion of the strain X, but ultimately can synergistically grow and increase the urease activity of co-culture system. It also can be found that the compound bacteria P14X exhibited quite high mineralization and emulsification characteristics. The cooperation mechanism of these two bacteria was explored using the non-targeted gene metabolomics analysis, which found that strain X in co-culture systems can provide fatty acids for the production of biosurfactants and promote the synthesis of rhamnolipids. At the same time, strain P can provide an alkaline environment for the occurrence of mineralization in co-culture systems and promote the generation of CaCO3. The preparation of microbial dust suppressants based on compound bacteria can provide theoretical basis and data support for the application of microbial dust suppressants in the field of coal dust prevention and control.