Relation of Coal-Dust to Explosions in Coal-Mines

How does limestone rock dust prevent coal dust explosions in coal mines?

Coal dust explosions in underground coal mines are pre­ vented by a generous application of rock dust (usually lime­ stone). If an explosion should occur, the rock dust disperses, mixes with the coal dust and prevents fl ame propagation by acting as a thermal inhibitor or heat sink. To investigate this process in more detail, a number of ex­ plosion experiments using various coal dust and limes...

Airborne dust in coal mines: the sampling problem.

Fossil hunting in coal mines.

At the northern tip of Colombia, Jonathan Bloch hunts for fossils in the midst of spontaneous combustion fires, noxious gases laced with foul-smelling sulfur, rock-shattering explosions, and some of the largest machines in the world. “It is a weird place to work,” Bloch admits, an associate curator of vertebrate paleontology at the FloridaMuseum of Natural History, although he says he feels saf...

Effect of Dust Suppression Measures on the Prevalence of Coal-workers' Pneumoconiosis in the Dutch Coal-mines.

The underground workers in the Dutch coal-mines have been radiographed (70 mm.) seven times since 1949. The prevalence of coal-miners' pneumoconiosis shows a continuous decrease in all age groups. To evaluate the effect of the intensive system of dust suppression over this period a cohort analysis was made of the proportion ofmen with pneumoconiosis with the same number of years of exposure und...

Evaluation of occupational exposures to respirable dust in underground coal mines.

Dust can be produced by almost all mining operations in underground coal mines and seen all around the mine. Different occupational groups get exposed to different dust levels and in order to minimize the probability of developing coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), it is necessary to investigate the workers exposed to dust. This study aimed to evaluate the dust concentration conditions in unde...