Put your Operators’ Health and Safety concerns to rest & limit your liability and protect your equipment!

"The first priority and concern of all in the coal or other mining industries must be the health and safety of its most precious resource – the miner." 

 Whether it is the health of the employees at stake or the condition of the equipment used, the risks of ignoring safety in the workplace are extremely high. Downtime is also expensive and liabilities are massive for employers who do not take precaution in keeping their equipment up-to-date.

There is an elevated risk of respiratory illness that exists for the mining work force, which is caused by the routine exposure of employees to airborne particles in the mining environment, the chances of being affected by respiratory illness is much greater. It is usually fair to assume that any dust cloud visible to the naked eye presents a potential hazard, however, the dust we do not see can similarly play a dangerous role.

In a day and age where smoking (particulate >0.5μ), is barred from work and public places, industry still seems to be ignorant about the extent and ramifications of Airborne Particulate and Fibre Exposure of harmful / carcinogenic “dust” and particulate in the Workplace that can cause respiratory disease.

In the spotlight right now is the effect of Crystalline Silica, Asbestos, Diesel Particulate Matter “DPM”, Coal dust and C02 on health and safety.

The effects of crystalline silica (SiO2), asbestos, coal, and diesel particulate matter (DPM), are of greatest concern since methods used to cut down these materials produce respirable size particles. Carbon dioxide emissions are also of concern as exposure to high concentrations increases the probability of contracting a vascular disease.

Crystalline silica is a basic component of soil, sand, granite, and many other minerals. Quartz is the most common form of crystalline silica.

When this silica is ingested by a human or by a machine, bad things happen. Studies show that upwards of 600 workers die each year from silicosis developed from over exposure to silica at work.

Silicosis or miner's phthisis, grinder's asthma, potter's rot and other occupation-related names is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs.

 Asbestos the naturally occurring, heat-resistant fibrous silicates of which the fibers are long and thin and either curved or straight. The curved fibers make up serpentine asbestos and the straight fibers make up amphibole asbestos. Chrysotile is by far the most common type of asbestos fiber produced in mining. Asbestos is found in virtually all types of mining operations!

In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers established asbestos exposure and asbestosis as a predisposing factor for bronchogenic carcinoma and malignant mesothelioma

Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory and scarring disease affecting the tissue of the lungs. People with the condition may experience severe shortness of breath and are at an increased risk for certain cancers, including lung cancer and, less commonly, mesothelioma. (Cancer of the pleura)

 Diesel particulate matter (DPM) is a significant concern since the particles formed are virtually all submicron in size and easily penetrate into the lung and into the tissue and blood.

DPM particles reside in the mining environment for long periods due to an essentially zero settling velocity and is a known human carcinogen and chronic exposure increases the risk of cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, and respiratory disease.

DPM is mostly confined to the nanoscale particle diameters, methods for removing it from vehicular exhaust are challenging, and the particles have virtually no inertia at these small diameters and can linger in the Air.

The Cancer Council Australia state those who work around diesel fumes are 40 per cent more likely to get lung cancer.

Experts say “exposure to diesel fumes is Australia’s second most prevalent work-based cancer-causing agent.” The Council has issued a warning to those who work with diesel-powered engines, vehicles and machinery to be aware of the associated risks of lung cancer.

According to the Council >130 Australian workers are diagnosed every year with lung cancer as a result of being exposed to diesel fumes in the work place.

Cancer Council Australia’s Occupational / Environmental Cancer Committee chair Terry Slevin (Owner Driver Oct 2016) reportedly says “that while the risks of working in the sun or in demolition are well known, the effects of working on heavy vehicles aren’t as commonly known by the community. Awareness of the risks of exposures like asbestos and UV radiation is increasing, and is reflected in gradual improvements in work safety practices”.

 The Cancer Council states in their WA Occupational Exposure to Carcinogens in Australia Report – 2015 some of the key issues are:

? Occupational exposures to carcinogens are estimated to cause over 5,000 new cases of cancer in Australia each year.

? Approximately 3.6 million Australians could be exposed to one or more carcinogens at work.

?The number of occupationally caused cancers compensated each year equates to less than eight percent of the expected number.

 Coal Dust!

Coal workers' pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung disease or black lung, is caused by long exposure to coal dust. It is common in coal miners and others who work with coal. It is similar to both Silicosis and Asbestosis from inhaling Silica and Asbestos dust. Inhaled mineral and coal dust progressively builds up in the lungs and cannot be removed by the body; this leads to inflammation, fibrosis, and in worse cases, necrosis.

The particles are engulfed by resident alveolar or interstitial macrophages and remain in the lungs, residing in the connective tissue or pulmonary lymph nodes.

Coal dust provides a sufficient stimulus for the macrophage to release various products, including enzymes, cytokines, oxygen radicals, and fibroblast growth factors, which are important in the inflammation and fibrosis of Coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Aggregations of carbon-laden macrophages can be visualized under a microscope as granular, black areas.

In serious cases, the lung may grossly appear black. These aggregations can cause inflammation and fibrosis, as well as the formation of nodular lesions within the lungs.

Black lung is actually a set of conditions and until the 1950s its dangers were not well understood. The prevailing view was that silicosis was very serious but it was solely caused by silica and not coal dust and that was not correct!

Coal workers' pneumoconiosis “CWP”, severe state, develops after the initial, milder form of the disease known as anthracnosis. Prolonged exposure to large amounts of coal dust can result in more serious forms of the disease, simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis (progressive massive fibrosis, or PMF). More commonly, workers exposed to coal dust develop chronic bronchitis associated with workplace dust exposure. The incidence of industrial bronchitis varies with age, job, exposure, and smoking. In nonsmokers (who are less prone to develop bronchitis than smokers), studies of coal miners have shown a 16% to 17% incidence of industrial bronchitis.

 Continued exposure to coal dust following the development of simple CWP may progress to complicated CWP with progressive massive fibrosis (PMF), wherein large masses of dense fibrosis develop, usually in the upper lung zones, measuring greater than 1 cm in diameter, with accompanying decreased lung function. These cases generally require a number of years to develop. Grossly, the lung itself appears blackened. Pathologically, these consist of fibrosis with haphazardly-arranged collagen and many pigment-laden macrophages and abundant free pigment. Radiographically, CWP can appear strikingly similar to silicosis. In simple CWP, small rounded nodules predominate, tending to first appear in the upper lung zones.

Symptoms and pulmonary function testing relate to the degree of respiratory impairment but are not part of the diagnostic criteria. As noted above, the chest X-ray appearance for CWP can be virtually indistinguishable from silicosis. Chest CT, particularly high-resolution scanning (HRCT), are more sensitive than plain X-ray for detecting the small round opacities.

Numerous news / media releases since late 2015 have reported the re-occurrence (“never wiped out” The Australian March 2016) of Black Lung Disease in the Australian Coal Industry and a few reports have stated that “around 16% of Queensland Coal Miners alone may have symptoms of miner’s pneumoconiosis according to the CFMEU” (ABC News March 2016).

Also reported in “the Conversation April 21st 2016”, there were 25,000 deaths from Black Lung reported in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013). However, what was not mentioned is that the same study / report also stated morbidity rates for other types of Particulate & Fibre exposure were far higher and NOT related to Coal Mining:

? 46,000 – Silicosis.

? 24,000 – Asbestosis.

? 164,000 – Other Pneumoconiosis effects.

So how serious is the issue of Pneumoconiosis? Studies and reports are indicating that it is very serious indeed! As an example – reported in Reuters May 2016 up to 500,000 Metalliferous Miners in South Africa have successfully lodged a class action suit against Gold Mining Companies (Metalliferous Mining) for the contraction of Silicosis, their current Class Action law suit regarding the issue of Airborne Particulate and Fibre Exposure in the Workplace has been ignored for so long that now it has finally come to the surface- which has wider ramifications across the world.

Work to investigate the relationship between respirable dust exposure and coal worker's pneumoconiosis was carried out in Britain by the Institute of Occupational Medicine. This research was known as the Pneumoconiosis Field Research (PFR). The research underpinned the recommendations for more stringent airborne dust standards in British coalmines and the PFR was ultimately used as the basis for many national dust standards around the world.

 In 2013 Coal workers' pneumoconiosis resulted in 25,000 deaths in the USA down from 29,000 deaths in 1990. During 1970-1974, prevalence of Coal workers pneumoconiosis among US coal miners who had worked over 25 years was 32%; the same group saw a prevalence of 9% in 2005-2006.

In the USA Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, the US Congress set up standards to reduce dust and created the Black Lung Disability Trust. A miner who has spent 25 years in underground coal mines has a 5–10% risk of contracting the disease.

After the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 became law in the United States, the percentage of American miners suffering from black lung disease decreased by about 90 percent. More recently, however, rates of the disease have been on the rise.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported that close to 9 percent of miners with 25 years or more experience tested positive for black lung in 2005–2006, compared with 4 percent in the late 1990s.

New findings have shown that “Coal workers pneumoconiosis” can be a risk for surface coal miners, who are 48% of the workforce. Data from the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program of NIOSH, which examined chest X-rays from more than 2,000 miners in 16 US states from 2010-2011, showed that 2% of miners with greater than one year of surface mining experience developed “Coal workers pneumoconiosis” 0.5% of these miners had PMF. Most of these workers had never worked in an underground mine prior to surface mining. A high proportion of the X-rays suggested that these miners had developed silicosis.

NIOSH, with support from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), operates a Mobile Health Screening Program, which travels to mining regions around the United States. Miners who participate in the Program receive health evaluations once every five years, at no cost to themselves. Chest x-rays can detect the early signs of and changes in CWP, often before the miner is aware of any lung problems.

In accordance with the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA’s) recently-published final rule on respirable coal mine dust exposure, NIOSH has expanded its national program of health surveillance for coal miners to include periodic lung function testing (called spirometry), respiratory health assessment questionnaires, and extended health surveillance to workers at surface coal mines.

On August 1, 2014, The USA’s Mine Safety & Health Administration “MSHA” introduced a landmark respirable dust rule that went into effect, adding a number of increased protections for coal miners and closing several loopholes that masked their exposure to unhealthy coal mine dust. Respirable coal dust sampling results for the first year of the rule—containing those new protections—show that compliance is achievable and, most importantly, that the nation’s coal miners are now, more than ever before, better protected from the debilitating and deadly black lung disease.

 The new rule of August 1, 2014 to lower the concentration of harmful respirable coal mine dust takes a comprehensive approach that includes increased real-time Air sampling and immediate corrective action when excessive dust levels are found. It requires continuously maintaining of the average concentration of respirable dust in a mine atmosphere during each shift to which each miner in the active working area is exposed at or below 2.0 milligrams of respirable dust per cubic meter of air (mg/m3).

On August 1, 2016, Phase III of MSHA’s respirable dust rule went into effect.

The concentration limits for respirable coal mine dust are lowered from 2.0 milligrams of dust per cubic meter of air (mg/m3) to 1.5 mg/m3 at underground and surface coal mines

Eventually as documented in the Document “Occupational Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust” by NIOSH respirable dust exposures may be limited to 1.0 mg/m3 as a TWA concentration for up to 10 hours per day during a 40-hour work week as measured according to existing MSHA methods.

Lowering the concentration of respirable mine dust in the air that miners breathe is the most effective means of preventing diseases caused by excessive exposure to such dust.

There is a misconception that Cabins of Fixed and Mobile Plants provide protection- however, this is not true and in fact Cabins are in most cases more concentrated with harmful contamination than the outside environment!

Examples of Enclosed Cabins are for Mobile Plant are Earthmoving / Mining machines, Light Vehicles, Service Trucks, Drill Rigs, Cranes, etc. For Fixed Plant are Maintenance Offices, Crusher Cabins

Whilst an Enclosed Cabin on Fixed / Mobile Plant provides some protection, there is a proliferation of field studies that clearly depict that the internal Cabin Environment can be more harmful than external to the Cabin. These studies have been completed for decades around the world by OH&S Regulators / Authorities, Universities, Industry – not only in regard to Particulate / Fibre Exposure but also other Cabin Environmental factors such as CO2 Concentration (fatigue, drowsiness), Cabin Pressurization, Recirculation Air Filtration, etc.

CO2 concentration (lack of External Air / Ventilation). If an HVAC system is operated on 100% Recirculation Air and / or if the External Filter is blocked then CO2 concentration will increase quickly (<5 minutes) which will cause sleepiness, loss of concentration / alertness, fatigue and acidosis.

Correct Cabin Pressurization is paramount– negative pressurization of the Cabin will actually “draw” in dust.

 The CDC / NIOSH in the USA have completed extensive field studies / reports on exposure of workers in Enclosed Cabins. Also in Australia, the Queensland Mines Inspectorate – Health Surveillance Unit (2009) has conducted comprehensive field studies proving the effects upon occupants in an Enclosed Cabin.

One such study of an Excavator in the Sandstone Quarry proved the benefits of implementing correctly designed and certified Engineering Mitigation Controls to provide a healthy / safe Cabin environment.

Over the years, the use of Stockpile Buildings for raw materials has increased to reduce loss of product and to reduce / eliminate inundation of the public area. However, whilst mitigating one risk another is created as this also presents an increased risk for occupants of Machine Cabins operating in these environments, which are “saturated” with Airborne Particulate (especially DPM).

Pneumoconiosis / Respiratory Disease is not just in the Coal Mining Industry but in ALL Industries where exposure to Airborne Particulate & Fibre Exposure occurs!

Exposure to DPM is in all industries where Diesel Engines are involved!

The goal is to create an atmosphere of clean breathable air to the Operator and deflect and protect from harmful respirable mine dust. Not only is this dust detrimental for the workers, but the dust is also damaging to equipment.

With requirements for mandatory Monitoring Data Recording, Public Access to Information and some "turning over of rocks" in many other Industries when dealing with Airborne Particulate and Fibre, it is only a matter of time before the general consensus is that they have a problem- in all Industries!

So how do you put your Operators’ Health and Safety concerns to rest & limit your liability and protect your equipment?

Improve the cab environment for operators, reducing the dust exposure in HVAC and cab electronics, extending maintenance intervals, and lowering operating costs.

Consider contacting one of the four companies listed at the end of this article. They are working diligently to assist companies—saving lives and capital. They offer expertise in health and safety, particularly when it comes to meeting the requirements of local laws regarding silica, DPM, asbestos, and coal exposure.

They offers expertise in health and safety, particularly when it comes to meeting the requirements of local laws regarding silica / DPM / Asbestos / Coal exposure.

Understanding the details of the permissible exposure limits can be challenging without a little guidance. This group of companies work together, share information and technology to help you in meeting regulatory requirements.

Improving the cab environment for operators, reducing the dust exposure in HVAC and cab electronics, extending maintenance intervals, and lower operating costs is a great way to protect your Operators’ Health and Safety & limit your liability and protect your equipment.

 Polar Mobility Research Western Canada – offers customizable solutions for Cabin pressurization, recirculation filtration complete Cab Air Quality Systems to protect cab electronics, increase operator protection, and reduce harmful particulate buildup.

Polar incorporates into their HVAC systems the Sy-Klone RESPA Filter systems, which as HEPA removes 99.95% of all respirable dust, before it gets into the HVAC system and can also can remove DPM. To complete the cab filtration system, Polar Mobility offers an electronic pressure monitoring system for cabin pressure, audibly alarms the operator when pressure drops below required levels, can be connected to remote telemetry systems, and satisfies the requirement for a cab pressure monitor when required by law.

[email protected]  www.polarmobility.com & www.sy-klone.ca

 LSM Technologies Australia –primary objectives are to be proactive in offering over 10 years of experience, expertise, research and mitigation control technology. As well as working with Industry Professionals / Regulators and their clients to meet compliance to current Australian / International Standards and Guidelines, extend the service life of their equipment and enhance productivity.

Our RESPA / Q-CABAIR Environmental Systems are the only Cabin Pressurizer / Filtration Technology field tested and certified by an Australian OH&S Regulator – Queensland Mines Inspectorate,

www.lsmtechnologies.com.au   [email protected]

 Climatrans Montreal – Eastern Canada

 Climatrans is a company built with the experience and expertise passed on from generation to generation. A family built company with deep knowledge of the Mobile HVAC Industry, dedicated to improving health in all environmental enclosures.

 This has been made possible because of the efforts of a group of inventors, scientists, and business people from around the world who have designed new methods to accomplish what was previously impossible. New technologies are now allowing us to meet regulatory requirements and customer expectations in providing the cleanest possible air and longest possible service life.

 We value above all else operator health and safety, proper environmental procedures and cutting your downtime.

 www.climatrans.com        [email protected]

 Van der Linden B.V. engages in the development, production and distribution of fuel, oil and air treatment products for machines in the recycling, industrial, maritime, offshore, earthmoving and mining sectors.

Their mission is to provide cost efficient solutions to owners that protect operator health, extend maintenance intervals and increase operational uptime. Using patented Cab Air Quality products like Sy-Klone that are economical and cost effective.

Van der Linden BV – Netherlands - Europe

www.vdlindenbv.com      [email protected]