Sweepin Away Mining Health Issues with Dust-Tech
Toxic mine-dump dust is increasingly becoming a major problem for the mining industry, carrying airborne toxic substances that could seriously affect those working on the mines and the surrounding communities.
Online, May 12, 2010 (Newswire.com) - During the windy season from July to September, strong winds carry this toxic inhalable dust great distances, and high enough to enter the jet stream.
Polymer Pavements' Dust-Tech product could be a vital factor in preventing dust from becoming a health hazard, says Polymer Pavements CEO Nick Muller.
"By simply spraying Dust-Tech over the loose material, and allowing it to settle, within an hour, a thin plastic type film will be formed over the soil, binding the sand particles and penetrating at least 4mm deep into the soil. This will effectively eliminate the harmful dust being formed on the mines."
For increased visibility and aesthetic purposes, the polymer may also be tinted to a specific colour such as green, to reflect an environmental appearance. Dust-Tech is environmentally friendly, and allows seedlings and grass to grow through the film.
Dust dilution increases with distance as it is transported by wind. Therefore, inhabited areas close to mine dumps are at greatest risk, the risk reducing as distance from the dump increases. The risk associated with airborne toxic substances is measured in terms of the mass of each toxic substance for every unit volume of air, usually in grams, milligrams or micrograms for every cubic meter of air.
In the past, legislation to control the spread of toxic mine dump dust has not been effectively implemented. The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) and environmental legislators appeared to have regarded dust from mine dumps, other than asbestos, as constituting mere nuisance dust, the distribution of which can be determined by precipitation sampling, expressed in grams of dust precipitated a square meter. However, analysis of this dust reveals the presence of a variety of toxic compounds, such as aluminum, arsenic, copper, iron, manganese, lead, zinc, uranium and cyanide.
"In addition to the nuisance factor, more attention is being focused on the long term health issues of mine workers as a result of constant dust inhalation, for instance silicosis," concludes Muller. "This specific lung disease may arise up to 30 years after dust exposure, increasing the miners chances of TB and lung cancer. In order to protect workers and the community against potential lung diseases, dust prevention and protection is crucial. Dust-Tech can literary solve the issue within an hour of application, eradicating the immediate harmful effects of dust on employees' and surrounding communities' health."
Dust-Tech is primarily and extensively used by the US military for suppressing dust on helicopter landing pads, which are affected by helicopter brownout, that is in-flight visibility restriction due to dust or sand in the air. It is a $100 million year problem for the U.S. Military in Afghanistan and Iraq, with the brownout phenomenon causing accidents during helicopter landing and take-off operations in arid desert terrain.