Mine Dust and Pulmonary Health

Mining activities mainly deal with the excavation of raw material from earth’s crust. The sources of particulate matter (PM) emission in opencast coal mines include blasting and drilling operations, coal handling plant operation, loading and transport of overburden and coal by shovel-dumper combination, crushing, conveying and handling of overburden by draglines, and vehicular emission from unpaved roads [1]. Dust is termed as particulate matter (PM) and are of two types as respirable (≤ PM10) and non-respirable (>PM10). Mining dust is considered as the most dangerous health hazards for miners and nearby people. Different factors such as distance from the source, wind speed and direction affect the transportation of dust to the nearby area. Dust generated through mining activities consists of mostly coarse particles and particles larger than PM10. The dust generated from vehicular exhausts and mobile equipment are fine particles and only account for about 5 per cent of the total particles emitted [2]. A number of defense mechanisms working in the human respiratory system protect people from the harmfulness of particulate matter (PM). The sticky wall of the breathing airways traps the PM. Then the PM with the mucus is removed by swallowing or coughing. Finer particles (≤PM2.5) reach deeper into the lungs and are most dangerous and severely affect them. Dust from the mining activity contains trace elements such as Ca, Al, Mg, Ti, Mn, Fe, Zn, Ni, Mo, Cr, Sn, V, Sb, Cu, Co, Cu, Pb, Cd, etc. The toxic trace elements and minerals present in dust are major threat to human health [3]. Microorganisms such as Acinetobacter schindleri, Aeromonas cavernicola, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus penicillioides, Cladosporium cladosporioides, and Penicillium brevicompactum etc. may be present in coal dust which may affect the miner’s health through inhalation [4]. The health risk from dust hazards depend on size, concentration, mineralogical composition and duration of exposure.