Coal mines can now equip their workers with new personal dust monitors that are designed to help protect them from the health effects of long-term exposure to coal dust. According to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), there has been an alarming increase in black lung disease (pneumoconiosis), a debilitating disease caused by inhaling coal dust for a prolonged period of time.
The Thermo Scientific PDM3700 Personal Dust Monitor is a lightweight instrument worn on a mine worker’s belt. It is lighter, more durable and more ergonomic than the previous version, the PDM3600 monitor, and is designed specifically for use in US-based mining applications. The PDM3700 monitor is engineered to provide continuous, high-quality personal dust exposure information to ensure that shift-average respirable dust intake does not exceed regulatory limits. The battery-operated device provides three real-time measurements: primary current mass concentration, primary cumulative mass concentration and percent of limit.
“We continue to work closely with the industry, and with a view to regulation, to afford mines access to the best technology to protect their employees,” said Alan Matta, Industrial Hygiene Product Manager, Environmental and Process Monitoring, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “This newest device is designed to make it easier than ever to monitor the coal dust intake, protecting miners and achieving the goals of the industry as a whole.”
The Thermo Scientific PDM3700 Personal Dust Monitor also offers the following features:
• Continuous information availability through an automatic measurement method, allowing for lower per-sample cost than with manual sampling;
• Tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) technology for real-time concentration data logging to identify occurrences of highest exposure;
• Lightweight design, a decrease of 25% over previous model thanks to elimination of cap lamp and second battery; and
• Enhancements in hardware, software and firmware to improve radio frequency interference susceptibility, consolidation of data for MSHA reporting and numerous other capabilities.
Thermo Fisher designed the original PDM3600 under contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Pittsburgh Research Laboratory) to arm miners and mine operators with the information to protect personnel from elevated dust concentrations. The partnership involved government, worker representatives and industry, including NIOSH, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, United Mine Workers of America, National Mining Association, Bituminous Coal Operators Association and Thermo Fisher Scientific. The newest model builds on this unique partnership.
