A real-time, wearable elemental carbon monitor for use in underground mines

ICx Technologies is currently fielding a real-time, wearable elemental carbon monitor designed to determine real-time diesel particulate levels in mines. Diesel particulates are composed primarily of elemental and organic carbon and have been found to present a health hazard. Diesel particulate levels can be particularly high in underground mines. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulates these diesel particulate levels through total submicron exposure in metal and non-metal mines. The current method of measuring personal exposure to elemental or total carbon nanoparticles involves collecting these particles on a quartz filter followed by a thermo-optical laboratory analysis. This remote laboratory analysis does not allow an understanding of where or when these levels occurred throughout the collection time. In addition, waiting weeks for these results makes it difficult to implement effective exposure reduction mechanisms and only documents that over-exposures have occurred rather than preventing them. This method is used because existing real-time particle monitors are either not sufficiently sensitive for measuring hazardous diesel particulate levels, are too large or costly for routine use in mines, or are subject to interference from other materials commonly present in mines. The ICx Diesel Particulate Monitor is based on a technique developed and tested at the U.S. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory. The ICx monitor uses real-time particle capture and analysis to yield elemental carbon values that are displayed to the wearer and logged by the compact device. The EC values displayed are based upon a correlation with an established laboratory method (NIOSH Method 5040) for elemental carbon emissions in a mine environment.