Contributing Factors in Respirable Dust Lung Deposition in Underground Coal Mines: Short Review

Exposure to respirable dust, particularly in underground mines, significantly affects the worker’s health. During the last decades, respirable dust concentrations in surface and underground mines have been significantly reduced. However, the health data shows that the rate of mine workers with respiratory diseases is still high. Significant evidence suggests that respirable dust toxicity is related to particle characteristics, including mineralogy and morphology of the dust particles. This study discusses the respirable coal mine dust (RCMD) deposition in the human lung. Detailed investigation of RCMD particle characteristics, including size, shape, angularity, and composition, as well as bioaccessibility and wettability are required to better understand the RCMD lung deposition. Current mass-concentration-based sampling methods cannot provide sufficient information about the true dose of exposure. Therefore, lung deposition experiments are required to investigate the actual internal exposure dose among underground coal miners.