Measuring dust can limit exposure in mines
Mines can measure and control dust, to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act
Mines can measure and control dust, to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act
Dust is recognised as a serious health hazard in mines where metals and metalloids are carried in atmospheric dust, exposing workers to toxic contaminants.
Dust from minerals such as coal, silica and other finely powdered materials can damage the lungs and air passages and smaller particles of about 0.3 μm in size have the most serious impact on human health, says Weba Chute Systems manager Izak Potgieter.
“The Occupational Health and Safety Act therefore specifies certain dust exposure limits, so that mines can measure and control dust, to ensure that levels are managed,” says Potgieter. “Health and safety officers monitor this on a regular basis as part of their compliance standards.”
He notes that dust is often generated during the transportation of minerals on conveyors and through transfer chutes. Measuring dust at these sources can be done using a handheld dust meter, typically gathering data in 30 second intervals with 0.003 split seconds per measurement. The data from this process can then be profiled into a scatter plot, considering factors like lump size, belt speed, relative humidity, wet-bulb temperature, wind conditions and material type.
“The lump size of the material being moved is usually a key factor affecting dust levels,” he says. “To understand the levels of dust being produced, data on the size and material type needs to be collected and analysed.”
The speed of conveyor belts will also affect the dust levels, Potgieter says, depending on the tonnage per hour travelling through the chute. Reducing the dangers of dust in this environment requires better flow control of the moving material, including velocity and impact on conveyors and in chutes. 
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest News
Showroom
ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
