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PubMed2000

An improved inventory of methane emissions from coal mining in the United States.

Past efforts to estimate methane emissions from underground mines, surface mines, and other coal mine operations have been hampered, to different degrees, by a lack of direct emissions data. Direct measurements have been completely unavailable for several important coal mining operations. A primary goal of this study was to collect new methane emissions measurements and other data for the most poorly characterized mining operations and use these data to develop an improved methane emission inventory for the U.S. coal mining industry. This required the development and verification of measurement methods for surface mines, coal handling operations, and abandoned underground mines and the use of these methods at about 30 mining sites across the United States. Although the study's focus was on surface mines, abandoned underground mines, and coal handling operations, evaluations were also conducted to improve our understanding of underground mine emission trends and to develop improved national data sets of coal properties. Total U.S. methane emissions are estimated to be 4.669 million tons, and as expected, emissions from underground mine ventilation and methane drainage systems dominate (74% of the total emissions). On the other hand, emissions from coal handling, abandoned underground mines, and surface mines are significant, and collectively they represent approximately 26% of the total emissions.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed2001

Contamination of settling ponds and rivers as a result of discharge of radium-bearing waters from Polish coal mines.

Saline waters from underground coal mines in Poland often contain natural radioactive isotopes, mainly 226Ra from the uranium decay series and 228Ra from the thorium series. Approximately 40% of the total amount of radium remains underground as radioactive deposits, but 225 MBq of 226Ra and 400 MBq of 228Ra are released daily into the rivers along with the other mine effluents from all Polish coal mines. Technical measures such as inducing the precipitation of radium in gobs, decreasing the amount of meteoric inflow water into underground workings, etc. have been undertaken in several coal mines, and as a result of these measures, the total amount of radium released to the surface waters has diminished by about 60% during the last 5-6 years. Mine water can have a severe impact on the natural environment, mainly due to its salinity. However, associated high levels of radium concentration in river waters, bottom sediments and vegetation have also been observed. Sometimes radium concentrations in rivers exceed 0.7 kBq/m3, which is the permitted level for waste waters under Polish law. The extensive investigations described here were carried out for all coal mines and on this basis the total radium balance in the effluents has been calculated. Measurements in the vicinity of mine settling ponds and in rivers have given us an opportunity to study radium behaviour in river waters and to assess the degree of contamination. Solid waste materials with enhanced natural radioactivity have been produced in huge amounts in the power and coal industries in Poland. As a result of the combustion of coal in power plants, low-radioactive waste materials are produced, with 226Ra concentration seldom exceeding a few hundreds of Bq/kg. A different situation is observed in coal mines, where, as a result of precipitation of radium from radium-bearing waters, highly radioactive deposits are formed. Sometimes the radioactivity of such materials is extremely high; precipitates from coal mines may have radium concentrations of 400,000 Bq/kg--equivalent to 3% uranium ore. Usually, such deposition takes place underground, but sometimes co-precipitation of radium with barium takes place on the surface, in settling ponds and in rivers. Therefore management of solid waste with technologically enhanced natural radioactivity (TENR) is a very important subject.

Geologic Sediments↗
PubMed1985

A case-control study of stomach cancer in a coal mining region of Pennsylvania.

Historically coal mining populations have been reported to have elevated stomach cancer incidence rates. To identify which factors might be associated with cases who reside in these high risk areas, and specifically if particulate exposures from coal mining and coal utilization are associated with risk, a mining area of western Pennsylvania was defined for a retrospective case-control study. One hundred seventy-eight resident cases, identified from certificates of death, were compared to three controls: digestive cancer deaths, arteriosclerotic heart disease deaths, and neighborhood (living) controls. Controls were matched to each case on age, race, sex, and residence. Interviews were conducted during 1981 and 1982. Excess risks were shown for foreign born and eastern Europeans. Coal mining was not shown to be a risk factor for males, while an association was seen for female cases whose husbands were miners. Farming was a risk factor for males and females. Marked decreased risks were shown for gas heating and cooking fuels, with elevated risks for coal, wood and oil heating fuels, and wood cooking fuel. These findings are associated with lower socioeconomic status, and suggest environmental exposures or lifestyles that are directly and indirectly related to these risks factors. The marked inverse relationship between stomach cancer and use of gas heating and cooking fuel may be of important etiologic significance, especially in association with dietary changes. Further evaluation of prior use of various types of heating and cooking fuels needs to be considered especially using incident rather than case deaths.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Respirable dust exposures in U.S. surface coal mines (1982-1986).

Exposure of miners to respirable coal mine dust and to respirable quartz silica at surface coal mines in the United States during 1982-1986 were evaluated by job category using data collected by coal mine operators and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors. Average coal mine dust concentrations were usually well below the MSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for all job categories, but at least 10% of the samples obtained from some coal preparation plant job areas and most drilling job areas had concentrations that exceeded the 2.0 mg/m3 limit. In contrast, a very high proportion of samples from surface mine driller areas exceeded the quartz PEL. Of all samples collected for highwall drill operators and helpers, 78% and 77%, respectively, were greater than the 0.1 mg/m3 quartz exposure limit (average concentrations were .32 and .36 mg/m3, respectively). Although MSHA compliance data may not be entirely adequate for assessing chronic exposure to quartz, these data and the results of other NIOSH studies nonetheless indicate excessive exposure to silica in a group of surface coal miners.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Does coal mine dust present a risk for lung cancer? A case-control study of U.S. coal miners.

This paper evaluates the relationship between the risk of lung cancer mortality and coal mine dust exposure under control by cigarette smoking status. Two case-control studies based on 317 white male lung cancer mortality cases are presented. A one-to-one matched-case design allows examination of the risk of coal mine dust exposure and cigarette smoking. A two-to-one matched-case design was employed to examine the lung cancer risk of coal mine dust exposure independent of cigarette smoking. Based upon these data, no evidence of a coal mine dust exposure-lung cancer risk was found, although the expected increased risk for lung cancer in cigarette smokers was observed. There was no evidence of an interactive effect between cigarette smoking and coal mine dust exposure.

Coal Mining↗
PubMed2002

Update on respiratory disease from coal mine and silica dust.

Coal mine and silica dust cause significant respiratory disease in spite of modern dust control regulations. Susceptible individuals in exposed populations may develop fibrosing lung disease, obstructive airways disease, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, or lung cancer. A careful occupational history that elicits exposure to respiratory hazards is the cornerstone of an accurate diagnosis. Treatment involves removal from exposure, supportive care, pulmonary rehabilitation, and when disabling disease is present, assistance obtaining compensation.

Coal Mining↗
PubMed1984

Estimation of the exertion requirements of coal mining work.

The work requirements of coal mining work were estimated by studying a group of 12 underground coal miners. A two level (rest, 300 kg X m/min) test was performed to estimate the linear relationship between each subject's heart rate and oxygen consumption. Then, heart rates were recorded during coal mining work with a Holter type recorder. From these data, the distributions of oxygen consumptions during work were estimated, allowing characterization of the range of exertion throughout the work day. The average median estimated oxygen consumption was 3.3 METS, the average 70th percentile was 4.3 METS, and the average 90th percentile was 6.3 METS. These results should be considered when assessing an individual's occupational fitness.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Occupational fatalities among coal mine workers in Zonguldak, Turkey, 1994-2003.

BACKGROUND: Fatal underground coal mine injuries are a worldwide problem. Zonguldak holds 95% of all Turkey's coal reserves. AIM: To investigate fatalities in the underground coal-mining industry in the Zonguldak province. METHODS: Retrospective study of fatal underground coal-mining accidents from 1994 to 2003 through evaluation of industry records. RESULTS: There were 164 deaths available for analysis. The median age was 36 years (range: 14-56 years). Eighty-one fatalities (49%) were due to subsidence, 33 (20%) were due to underground railway accidents and 18 (11%) were due to gas poisoning. Asphyxia was the most common cause of death (99, 60%). The majority of fatalities (144, 87%) occurred instantaneously at the scene of the incident. The remainder (20, 13%) occurred on the way to the hospital or in the emergency room or the intensive care unit. CONCLUSION: The underground coal-mining industry in Turkey requires strategies to improve safety and reduce the number of fatalities occurring. These strategies should focus on improved underground safety through engineering measures.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed2003

The fox guarding the chicken coop: monitoring exposure to respirable coal mine dust, 1969-2000.

Following passage of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, underground coal mine operators were required to take air samples in order to monitor compliance with the exposure limit for respirable dust, a task essential for the prevention of pneumoconiosis among coal workers. Miners objected, claiming that having the mine operators perform this task was like "having the fox guard the chicken coop." This article is a historical narrative of mining industry corruption and of efforts to reform the program of monitoring exposure to coal mine dust. Several important themes common to the practice of occupational health are illustrated; most prominently, that employers should not be expected to regulate themselves.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1990

Alveolitis caused by exposure to coal mine dusts: production of interleukin-1 and immunomodulation by bronchoalveolar leukocytes.

Two kinds of coal mine dust, low rank with high quartz (bituminous) and high rank with low quartz (anthracite), were assayed for ability to induce alveolitis and to stimulate interleukin-1 release from normal alveolar macrophages in vitro. Dust-elicited bronchoalveolar leukocytes were also assessed for their effects on macrophage-depleted splenocyte mitogenesis and their ability to produce interleukin-1. Quartz and titanium dioxide were used for comparison as toxic and inert dusts, respectively. Both coal mine dusts caused substantial release of interleukin-1 from normal alveolar macrophages in vitro and the levels were higher than those caused by quartz. Bituminous coal mine dust provoked acute but rapidly subsiding macrophage/neutrophil alveolitis which was greater than that provoked by titanium dioxide; anthracite caused less alveolitis than titanium dioxide and quartz caused large scale, persistent alveolitis. Whole bronchoalveolar leukocytes, including polymorphonuclear neutrophils, elicited by exposure to dust, were less inhibitory to lymphocyte mitogenesis than normal alveolar macrophages and bituminous coal mine dust-induced neutrophils were augmentary to lymphocyte mitogenesis; macrophages from inflamed lungs were, on the whole, inhibitory to lymphocyte mitogenesis. Alveolar macrophages from bituminous coal mine dust- or titanium dioxide-exposed lungs showed increased ability to release interleukin-1 on stimulation in vitro. These findings suggest that bronchoalveolar leukocytes elicited by coal mine dust could modulate immunity by means of interleukin-1 release and enhancement of lymphocyte proliferation.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Nasal mucociliary clearance in coal mine workers.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of coal dust particles on nasal mucociliary function in coal mine workers. METHOD: Using the saccharin method, nasal mucociliary clearance was determined for 77 subjects, of which 39 who worked in a coal mine were actively exposed to coal dust whereas 38 were unexposed control subjects. The measurements were performed in the coal mine, at the level of 170 m below sea level. RESULTS: The average saccharin nasal transit time in coal mine workers, 12.61 (SD: 4.30) minutes, is longer than that of the control subjects, 10.97 (SD: 3.22). CONCLUSION: Although the findings of this study demonstrate that the coal particles affect the nasal mucociliary clearance, the difference in saccharin nasal transit time between the two groups (exposed vs unexposed) is not statistically significant (P = 0.063).

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Estimation of radon concentrations in coal mines using a hybrid technique calibration curve.

The results of epidemiological studies in various countries show that radon and its progeny cause carcinogenic effects on mine workers. Therefore, it becomes of paramount importance to monitor radon concentrations and consequently determine the radon dose rates in coal mines for the protection of coal miners. A new calibration curve was obtained for radon concentration estimation using hybrid techniques. A calibration curve was generated using 226Ra activity concentration measured by a HPGe detector-based gamma-ray spectrometer versus alpha-track-density rate due to radon and its progeny on CR-39 track detector. Using the slope of the experimentally determined curve in the units of Becqueral per kilogram (Bq kg-1) per unit alpha-track-density per hour (cm-2 h-1), radon concentrations (Bq m-3) were estimated using coal samples from various coal mines in two provinces of Pakistan, Punjab and Balochistan. Consequently, radon dose rates were computed in the simulated environment of the coal mines. Results of these computations may be considered with a caveat that the method developed in this paper provides only a screening method to indicate the radon dose in coal mines. It has been shown that the actual measurements of radon concentrations in the coal mines are in agreement with the estimated radon concentrations using the hybrid-technique calibration curve.

Calibration↗