The actual prevention of fibrogenic effect of mineral dust

• Main Author: Bobro Milan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Technical University of Kosice 2000-09-01
• Series: Acta Montanistica Slovaca
• Subjects: prevention; fibrogeneous material; to affect of structure; siliceous grain
• Online Access: http://actamont.tuke.sk/pdf/2000/n3/28bobro.pdf

The dustiness occurs in the mining work environment during the process of disintegration of rocks by drilling, explosion and dislocation. The dust contains minerals forming the massif, under Slovak mining conditions, it was usually quartz and some other minerals. They usually accompanied utility minerals. The characteristic mining aerosol is created during disintegration process. It was inhaled by miners and due to the most dangerous fibrogenic mineral quartz it caused that employees suffered from the so far incurable industrial disease. From that reason a long-term research of reaction qualities of quartz dust was carried out and the possibility to decrease its fibrogenic properties was researched. The prevention vested in the elimination of these properties on the surface of quartz grain or other silicate before entering, i.e. being inhaled by lungs, using water soluble aluminium hydroxide compound. This water was used for flushing in drilling process and to decrease dustiness by spraying it directly in the mining workplace. The aluminium hydroxide agent reacted with mineral dust directly in aerosol before being inhaled. The principle vested in the reaction of one mole of agent with two moles of surface structures of quartz particle forming a thermostatic layer of a new mineral type, in this case aluminium silicate of kaolinite. The required concentration of aluminium hydroxide compound solution for pure quartz dust was determined by experimental works and calculation with a required reserve or even slight excess of agent. If the fibrogenity of quartz not influenced in this manner was considered as 100%, its cytostatic and consequently fibrogenic effect would be decreased by the influence of this agent minimally by 60%. The method has been tested directly in mines, but due to recession of mining industry, it was not introduced in practice, however, it is currently getting a certain significance in tunnelling of transport tunnels in granite rocks, in ceramic industry, production of refractory materials, such as ganister etc.