Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association (original) (raw)

Visual Response to Dustiness - Roger P. Hancock, Nurtan A. Esmen & Conan P. Furber

Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association, 1976

Dustiness is a visually perceived phenomenon. In this paper, results of a quantification experiment for dustiness using a photometric method of measuring dust deposition and panel sampling techniques are reported. It was found that with maximum contrast a 0.2% effective area coverage (EAC) by dust can be perceived against a clean background. The minimum perceivable difference between varying gradations of shading was a change of 0.45% EAC. The results also revealed that a dust deposition level of 0.7% EAC was required before the object so covered was deemed unfit to use. A telephone survey indicated that the minimum tolerable interval between household dusting was every four days. Combination of the telephone survey information with the level of dust coverage found to be objectionable implies that a dustfall rate of less than 0.17% EAC/day would be tolerable for the population at large.

Dust Mitigation -Changing the Paradigm

AusIMM Iron Ore 2013 Conference Proceedings, 2013

Dust mitigation has long been seen as nothing more than managing a nuisance issue, but the reality is that poor dust management can lead to one or more of the following negative consequences, i.e., an increased risk of safety incidents, lost revenue, reduced and possibly even the loss of the licence to operate, regulatory intervention, high staff turnover and / or absenteeism and OH&S issues. Dust mitigation and management is not a black art, rather it is a scientifically-driven process that can provide an opportunity to increase profits, increase the company’s status as an excellent corporate citizen, enhance staff retention and reduce the safety risk profile of the operation. The way to achieve success in dust mitigation and control is to apply the scientific method to each problem that can arise and plague any operation using current industry best practice. This method of dust problem solving can be applied to dust issues arising from specific dust sources and locations. The dust sources can include wind impacting on stockpiles, open areas, tailings storage facilities, moving train and truckloads, vehicular traffic on roads, the operation of shovels, front end loaders, draglines, and other equipment, as well as for ore movement on conveyors. The solutions will come from a combination of deployment of dust collection equipment, dust and moisture monitoring equipment, the appropriate application of water and chemicals, the introduction and maintenance of appropriate barriers and the use of predictive data from local and public weather stations. The paradigm shift required is to view dust mitigation as one aspect of normal operational practice, not a “nice to have” or “unnecessary expense” as most operators currently view it. This attitude is becoming more important as more and more local communities oppose the development of mines. One of the reasons for this local opposition is the inevitable dusty environment that is usually associated with mining. Dust mitigation is not a significant expense if correctly designed and included in the system, either as part of the original design of the operation or as a brownfield installation after the fact. Indeed, there is always a loss of revenue associated with dustiness resulting from ore movement and this goes a long way to paying for any associated dust mitigating costs.