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HAZARDS OF UNDERGROUND MINING: PHYSICAL


Notes:

The mineworkers complained in particular about the fumes coming from the diesel engines of the trucks (LPT/ LHD) they now use inside the enclosed mine tunnels. The gases in diesel emissions include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, etc. The particles are called diesel particulate matter (DPM). Exposure to DPM is associated with increased rates of death and disease. As early as 1989, the International Agency for Research on Cancer pronounced that “diesel engine exhaust is probably carcinogenic to humans”.[i]

It is also assumed that 100% of workers in metal mining are exposed to silica dust. Cross-sectional studies of South African gold miners traced the work-relatedness of chronic airflow limitation independent of silicosis. However, the development of pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases are hard to detect through symptom survey and physical examination alone. These need to be documented through repeated chest x-rays and pulmonary function testing.


[i] US Mining Safety and Health Administration, Practical Ways to Reduce Exposure to Diesel Exhaust in Mining—A Toolbox, www.msha.gov