Respiratory protection in Brazilian underground mines: selecting the right respirator
Significant amount of particulate matter,also called aerosols,are generated in several operations such as crushing,haulage and blasting,etc. present in underground mines. Depending on their chemical and physical properties they may cause occupational diseases. The incidence of pneumoconiosis is high among exposed workers and silicosis is the most common and relevant type of pneumoconiosis in Brazil. In order to protect the workers from this hazard,some controls can be adopted and although some engineering controls have been applied in several large mine companies to reduce the dust levels like dust suppression techniques (water spray) and ventilation systems,one of the most common control is the use of approved respirators. This paper presents an overview of the particulate matter control in mining industry considering some of the Brazilian underground mines aspects related to aerosols and discuss the use of respiratory protective devices and particulate filters technology. It also analyzes the respirator selection logic considering the Brazilian legal requirements and identifies the most common respirators applied at mining workplace. As a result,some issues about respiratory protection like criteria proposal,parameters that affect the electrostatic filter media and mistakes in some exposure situations may contribute to enhance the respiratory protection program in mines in order to decrease the incidence of pneumoconiosis among the workers,especially the underground miners.
Respiratory protection particulate matter respirator mining
W.S.IRAMINA S.M.ESTON GABBAS, G.C.C. CAMARGO, O.F.
Mining and Petroleum Engineering Department,Polytechnic School,University of Sao Paulo,Sao Paulo,Bra 3Mdo Brasil,Brazil
国际会议
北京
英文
533-543
2008-10-20（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）