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14080044 / 2014

CHAPTER 5

Mine Dusts
RICHARD A. WALLI

5-1 DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF AIRBORNE PARTICULATE MATTER

Dust is the second category of airborne contaminant that is of major concern to mining
engineers. They will find dusts have much in common with gases in their modes of
occurrence, behavior, and control. Dispersions of solid or liquid particles of microscopic size
in a gaseous medium are termed aerosols. Examples are smoke, fog, mist, and dust in air.
Although all dusts do not have to be suspended to be harmful, those of pulmonary concern
exist as aerosols.
To adequately control particulate matter in the mine atmosphere, the following basic
principles of behavior must be understood. Reference should be made . to Fig. 5-1 to become
familiar with aerosols and their properties.
1 Particulate matter, whether liquid or solid, exhibits remarkably similar behavior when
airborne. The following discussion pertains to the properties and control of solidcontaminants, since they are by far the more prevalent in mine air, but the same principles
apply to liquid contaminants.
2 Dust particles of either pathological or combustible consequence are predominantly below
10 m in size {10 lim = 0.0004 in.). Those below 5m are classified by mine health
authorities as respirable dust (Anon., 1980a.)
3 Particles larger than 10 lkm are unlikely to remain long in suspension in air- streams
unless high velocities are encountered. These particles, however, are not of primary concern.
4 Industrial and mine dusts characteristically have a mean particle size in the range of 0.5 to 3
tLm.
5 Chemical activity increases with decreasing particle size.
6 The dusts below 10 lLm in size, which are of serious consequence in air hygiene, have no
significant weight or inertia and hence can remain suspended indefinitely in an atmosphere.
The expectation that such dusts will "settle out" of the airstream is wishful thinking.
7 The control of fine dusts (below 10 lim) that have become airborne requires control of
the airstream in which they are suspended. This is the basic concept of dust control.

5-2 CLASSIFICATION OF DUSTS

The wide range of effects of dusts can be grasped from a classification based on their harmful
physiological effects or explosive properties. In each category, dusts are listed in the order of
decreasing harm; some rate multiple listing.
1 Fibrogenic dusts (harmful to.. respiratory system).
(a) Silica (quartz, chert).
(b) Silicates (asbestos, talc, mica, sillimanite).
(c) Metal fumes (nearly all).
(d) Beryllium ore.
(e) Tin ore.
(f) Iron ores (some).
(g) Carborundum.
(h) Coal (anthracite, bituminous).
2 Carcinogenic dusts.
(a) Radon daughters.
(b) Asbestos.
(c) Arsenic.
3 Toxic dusts (poisonous to body organs, tissue, etc.).
(a) Ores of beryllium, arsenic, lead, uranium, radium, thorium, chromium,. vanadium,
mercury, cadmium, antimony, selenium, manganese, tungsten, nickel, silver (principally
the oxides and carbonates).
4 Radioactive dusts (injurious because of alpha and beta radiation).
(a) - Ores of uranium, radium, thorium.
5 Explosive dusts (combustible when airborne).
(a) Metallic dusts (magnesium, aluminum, zinc, tin, iron).
(b) Coal (bituminous, lignite).
(c) Sulfide ores.
(d) Organic dusts.
6 Nuisance dusts (little adverse effect on humans).
(a) Gypsum, kaolin, limestone.
7 Inert dusts {no harmful effector cellular response in lung)none.
A word of caution is needed regarding the above list. Any dust if present in excessive
amounts fora sufficient length of time can cause pathological damage to human beings and must
be considered a fibrogenic or pulmonary dust (Anon., 1946). Factors other than composition that
affect the harmfulness of a given dust are its particle-size range, its freshness, and the susceptibility
of the individual exposed.
As indicated by the ordered list above, dusts of different compositions have varying effects.
These effects sometimes do not develop for many years after exposure, and the identity of the
dust that is responsible is hard to determine. Only recently have the more-subtle culprits been
tracked down (coal, manganese, etc.).
As more dusts are added to the harmful list, there is increasing reason to doubt whether any
dust is actually "inert," pathologically. Therefore, in mines stringent control measures should be
applied to all dusts, indiscriminately, regardless of identity.
Even if dusts in the amounts present in a mine are demonstrated to be harmless to life or
property, control is still warranted. If nothing worse, they are nuisance dusts, lessening

visibility, creating uncomforable environments, and increasing equipment-maintenance costs.

They can be nuisances psychologically as well as physiologically, resulting in labor
inefficiency and dissatisfaction. Face, visibility has become of much greater importance since
the advent of mechanization and continuous mining; heavy dust concentrations are not only a
nuisance but a hazard.

5-3 PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF FIBROGENIC DUSTS

The Human Respiratory System
The harmful effects of fibrogenic dusts are best understood in the light of knowledge of the
components and functioning of the human respiratory system (Gardner, 1938; Anon., 1980b). The
nasal passage and oral opening through which we breathe open into the trachea ,(windpipe) in the
throat, which in turn leads to the bronchial rami. These tubes conduct air into the lungs, through
a right and left branch. Each subdivides into many smaller tubes, the bronchioles. The
bronchioles end in small sacs, the alveoli, in which the oxygenation of the blood takes place.
The respiratory system has many built-in safeguards to protect the sensiti4e tissue in the lungs
from the harmful effects of dust particles. In the upper respiratory system, these involve a
system of filters. Hairs in the nasal passage filter out many of theiarge partickslover 5 to 10 tim)
entering with inhalatiod. Mucous membran
llning the nose and throat traps still of the dust particles, large and small. In the trachea and
bronchi, hairlike cilia sweep medium-sized particles (5 to 10 pm) upward, with a vibratory
motion, into the throat, where they are swallowed.
Little or no dust above 1.0 tim in size enters the alveolar regions of the lung (Fig. 5-2). As the
size of dust decreases, a -greater percentage of it is deposited in these regions until, at,L0.2 ILm,
approximately 25%, and at 0.02 tLrn:. 55% bf the dust that enters the lung is deposited (Craig,
1963). The lower size limit of particles that causes lung diseases has not been established
(Rubin and Rubin, 1962); however, the finer the dust, the more potent it is (Dautrebande it al.,
1957).
A secondary line of defense against these small dust particles (tinder 5 lkn4) is elimination. In
the alveoli, tiny, wandering, jellylike cells called phagocytes await the particles that penetrate
the lungs proper. The phagocytes envelop any foreign matter and move it to drainage vessels,
called lymphatics, in the walls of blood vessels, in the bronchi, and in partitions in the lung. These
vessels empty into lymph nodes, the sedimentation chambers of the body waste system, pad are
eventually discharged.

Harmful Effects on the Lungs

On .occasions when the dust is excessive or chemically active and/or the exposure is continuous and
prolonged over many years, the defenses of the respiratory system break down, and pathological harm
results. The situation maybe likened to overload of a piece of machinery: something inevitably has to
give. In this case, it is usually the lung.
Fibrogenic or pulmonary (respiratory) damage may take several forms (Gardner,. 1938; Anon.,
1976). In one common, comparatively mild type, the functioning of the lungs maybe impaired by
accumulations of dust-laden cells about the lymph ducts and nodes in a soft deposit of pigment,
which produces a local inflammation and increases the susceptibility to disease. In the worst case,

dusts with a high degree of surface activity (e.g., free-silica dusts, particularly the crystalline variety,
quartz) are thought to react chemically in the alveoli with the phagocytes. The cells die,
accumulate in the lymph nodes and around the lymph vessels in the lungs, and impair the drainage
of waste. A nodular-type fibrosis (scar tissue) results in those areas of the lungs.
This is a progressive ailment, even though the victim is no longer in contact with the dust; but it is a
self-limiting one after nodules of a certain size have developed. Incapacitation of the individual is
certain to result in advanced stages, as evidenced by some or all of the following symptoms:
shortness of breath, labored breathing, chest pains, coughing, loss of body strength, spitting
blood.
Lung cancer has been associated with asbestos exposure, and studies (Webster, 1970; McDonald,
1973) have provided the link between primary malignant mesothelial tumors and various types of
asbestos.
Respiratory Ailments or Diseases
Although many questions remain, certain facts regarding fibrogenic damage by dusts have been
established (Anon., 1976). In its least-harmful effect, an airborne dust may cause pigmentation of the
lungs and shortness of breath. In addition, exposure to excessive concentrations of all dusts increases
the frequency of mild respiratory ailments (colds, influenza) and can worsen existing respiratory
diseases (asthma, tuberculosis).
Ina more harmful action, a dust may produce a fibrous or nonfibrous respiratory disease, the
collective name of all such diseases being pneumoconiosis (Forbes et al., 1950). Their names,
and the principal dusts believed causal, are summarized below:
1 Silicosis (miners' phdiisis)by free silica.
2 Silicotuberculosis (complication of tuberculosis by silica).
3 Asbestosisby asbestos.
4 Silicatosisby other silicates.
5 Siderosisby iron or iron ores.
6 Coal workers' pneumoconiosis .(black lung) or anthracosilicosisby coal, both bituminous and
anthracite, suspected also to contain free silica.
Of these, silicosis is the best known and most serious. Silicosis and asbestosis are characterized by
distinct nodular fibrosis, although asbestosis may be due to a. mechanical action rather than a
chemical one (Gardner, 1938): It is theorized that the long asbestos fibers are not readily eliminated
from the lungs, act as irritants, and produce fibrosis.
There is little proof that any of these diseases alone can cause death (Gardner, 1938). Usually
other respiratory complications develop (e.g., emphysema, pneumonia, or tuberculosis), and
pneumoconiosis aggravates the condition and hastens death.
Finally, the most harmful action is that of producing cancer. The principal agents that have been
identified are
1 Crocidolite {asbestos}malignant mesothelioma.
2 Radon daughters (uranium)lung cancer.
3 Chrysotile (asbestos)malignant mesothelioma.
4 Arsenic.
Of these, crocidolite is by far the worse. Radon daughters (decay products of radon gas) are more
widely encountered, as radon is a decay product of uranium. Radon has been found, for example, in
an Arizona copper mine, British hematite mines, and fluorspar mines in Newfoundland, Canada, as

well as invariably being associated with radioactive minerals. It is of significant interest that
epidemiological studies (Berry et al., 1972) have shown a distinct link between smoking and the
carcinogenic agents listed above. In fact, smoking is banned in Ontario uranium mines.

Prevalence of Dust Disease in the Mining Industry

Dust diseases can be controlled. This is evidenced by statistics throughout North America (Doyle,
1958; Anon., 1976; Gibbs, 1978) that show a more or less steady decline since the early 1930s,
with a leveling off since 1972. The decline is due to
1 Changes in mining methods.
2 Improved environmental control.
3 Reduced hours of exposure.
It must be recognized that with few exceptions, new cases represent exposure 20 or 30 years ago,
and the length of time between exposure and development of a dust disease is increasing, as is the
age at which it shows up.
Physiological Effects of Other Dusts
The action of other categories of dusts is more apparent. Certain toxic dusts harm the organs
(stomach, liver, kidneys, etc.), whereas others irritate or damage eyes or skin (Anon.,. 1946).
Lead and uranium ores are examples.
Radioactive dusts are hazardous because of their toxicity and the alpha and beta radiation they
emit. However, maintaining airborne-dust concentrations in uranium mines within limits set for
siliceous dusts is usually adequate precaution against radiation. These types of physiological
dusts, of course, need not be airborne to constitute a hazard.

5-4 FACTORS THAT DETERMINE DUST HARMFULNESS TO HUMANS

In all of the above discussion, frequent use has been made of the qualifying term "excessive" in
describing the physiological effects of airborne dusts. With explosive dusts, too, it is true that only
under "excessive" conditions do dust explosions occur. What are the factors that determine the
harmfulness of an airborne dust? They are, in order of probable importance,
1 Composition.
(a) Chemical.
(b) Mineralogical.
2 Concentration.
(a) On number basis: Units are millions of particles per cubic foot of air (mppcf) in the
United States and particles per cubic centimeter (ppcc) abroad (I mppcf=35.3 ppcc).
(b) On weight basis: Units are milligrams per cubic meter (1 mg/m3=10-3 mg/L), or ounces
or grains per cubic foot (1 grain/ft3 =2.p g/m3; 1 mg/L=103 mg/m3=0.001 OZ/ft); if mass
median particle size o#dust is 1.5 rn, 1 Mg/M3 6 mppcf (Anon., 1979).
3 Particle size, mean, and range (units: micrometer; 1 mm=1000 m).

4 Exposure time.
5 Individual susceptibility.

Composition
Mineralogical composition is more important than chemical, and chemical properties are more
important than physical in rating the pathological harmfulness of most dusts. For example, free
silica has greater chemical activity in the lungs than combined silica; this appears to be a
function of the surface energy of the particles. In the case of asbestos, the mechanical effect is more
important, however. Solubility is the principal variable in the action of the so-called toxic dusts.
Mixtures of dusts behave unpredictably.
Concentration
Next to composition, concentration is probably the most important factor. In general, a "harmful'
dust (e.g., silica) must be present in concentrations exceeding 3 mppcf on a number basis (0.5
mg/m3 on a weight basis) to produce pulmonary damage (Anon., 1946). Certain toxic and
radioactive dusts, however, can cause harm in smaller amounts (less than 1 mppcf or 0.2
mg/m3). These are the lower limits. The range of dust concentrations in different atmospheres
maybe compared in Fig. 5-3.

Particle Size
Fine dusts are the most hazardous physiologically, because their surface area, and hence chemical
activity, is tremendous in proportion to their weight. Pulmonary damage is most prevalent from
dusts of less than 5m, so-called respirable dust, and practically all mine dusts have a mean size
below this figure -(Anon_ 1946). Note that there is no lower limit.
Exposure Time
Rare cases of silicosis have been diagnosed after less than a 1-year exposure (Fortes et al., 1950).
These were extreme situations, however, and the average time for development of silicosis is 20
to 30 years (Doyle, 1958). Radiation damage is not apt to show up for 10 to 20 years, although the
combination of high dust and radon exposure accelerated this time in the early day's of uraniummine development.
Individual Susceptibility
An unknown factor influencing occupational health as related to respiratory-dust exposure is
human selectivity (Anon., 1976). Today most prospective employees go through a
preemployment examination, and potential problems are caught before they occur.
Nevertheless, individual susceptibility is still an unknown quantity.
It should be emphasized at this point that it is the combined effect of the above factors that
produces pneumoconiosis or any other physiological effect in a human being, and that there is
ample evidence that smoking tobacco has a synergistic effect, thus enhancing the probability of
contracting a respiratory disease. This interaction of factors can be appreciated from a study

of Fig.

5-5 EXPLOSIVE DUSTS AND FACTORS IN IGNITION

The U.S. Bureau of Mines and Department of Energy have been particularly active in dustexplosion technology, carrying out field and laboratory studies mainly at their Bruceton mine
and other facilities near Pittsburgh.
A dust explosion consists of a sudden pressure rise caused by the very rapid combustion of
airborne dust. Ignition of suspensions of combustible dusts can occur in the following ways:
1 Initiation by flame or spark.
2 Propagation by a gas explosion or blasting.
3 Spontaneous combusti