Comparison of respirable coal and silica dust monitoring systems for underground mining applications

Respirable coal mine dust (RCMD) and respirable crystalline silica (RCS) are hazardous materials that must be controlled in underground coal mines to reduce miners’ exposure. For this, monitoring systems are used to identify high dust concertation spots and apply critical controls. Using RingIR’s patented rtCRDS technology, a portable rtCRD spectrometer was built to use as a dust monitor in mining environments to measure coal and silica respirable dust levels rapidly and accurately. This research compares a PDM3700, a TSI aerodynamic particle sizer 3321, an SPS30 particulate matter sensor, and NIOSH methods for silica analysis with the new dust monitor developed by Ring-IR to test its functionality in simulated underground coal mine conditions. Simulated mine conditions are created inside a dust chamber using a Topas solid aerosol generator for dust supply and a humidity control station for humidity conditions.