A Standard Characterization Methodology for Respirable Coal Mine Dust Using SEM-EDX

Rachel Sellaro, Emily Sarver and Daniel Baxter
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Rachel Sellaro: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Holden Hall Room 108A, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Emily Sarver: Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering, Virginia Tech, Holden Hall Room 108A, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Daniel Baxter: Environmental Analysis Associates, Inc., 5290 Soledad Road, San Diego, CA 92109, USA

Resources, 2015, vol. 4, issue 4, 1-19

Abstract: A key consideration for responsible development of mineral and energy resources is the well-being of workers. Respirable dust in mining environments represents a serious concern for occupational health. In particular, coal miners can be exposed to a variety of dust characteristics depending on their work activities, and some exposures may pose risk for lung diseases like CWP and silicosis. As underscored by common regulatory frameworks, respirable dust exposures are generally characterized on the basis of total mass concentration, and also the silica mass fraction. However, relatively little emphasis has been placed on other dust characteristics that may be important in terms of identifying health risks. Comprehensive particle-level analysis to estimate chemistry, size, and shape distributions of particles is possible. This paper describes a standard methodology for characterization of respirable coal mine dust using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). Preliminary verification of the method is shown based several dust samples collected from an underground mine in Central Appalachia.

Keywords: Mining; Coal Dust; Respirable; Occupational Health; Particulate Composition; Dust Characterization; SEM-EDX (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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