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. 2019 Mar;16(3):242-249.
doi: 10.1080/15459624.2019.1566732. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Testing a revised inlet for the personal dust monitor

Steven E Mischler  1 , Donald P Tuchman  1 , Emanuele G Cauda  1 , Jay F Colinet  1 , Elaine N Rubinstein  1
Affiliations

Testing a revised inlet for the personal dust monitor

Steven E Mischler et al. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

A person-wearable dust monitor that provides nearly real-time, mass-based readings of respirable dust was developed for use in underground coal mines. This personal dust monitor (PDM) combined dust sampling instrumentation with a cap lamp (and battery) into one belt-wearable unit, with the air inlet mounted on the cap lamp. However, obsolescence of belt-carried cap lamp and batteries in coal mining ensued and led end users to request that the cap lamp and battery be removed from the PDM. Removal of these components necessitated the design of a new air inlet to be worn on the miner's lapel. The revised inlet was tested for dust collection equivalency against the original cap-mounted inlet design. Using calculated inlet respirable fractions and measured dust mass collection, the performance of the two inlets is shown to be similar. The new inlet requires a 1.02 factor for converting dust masses obtained from it to equivalent masses collected from the original inlet.

Keywords: Coal mine dust sampling; inlet; personal dust monitor.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Pictures of the instruments and associated inlets for the PDM 3600 (A, B) and PDM 3700 (C, D).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Picture of the original and revised inlets.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Picture of the Marple chamber at PMRD (upper left), inlet positioning (upper right) and arrangement scheme within the chamber (lower).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Respirable penetration data for the two inlets tested, together with the ISO/CEN/ACGIH respirable convention curve: original inlet (top); revised inlet (center); both inlets (bottom).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Weighted least squares regression of pooled coal dust mass data.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Government Accountability Office: Reports and Key Studies Support the Scientific Conclusions Underlying the Proposed Exposure Limit for Respirable Coal Mine Dust, by Moranz R (GAO-12–832R). August 2012.
    1. “Coal Mine Dust Sampling Devices,” US Code of Federal Regulations, 30 CFR Part 74. 2010.
    1. U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration: Report of the Secretary of Labor’s advisory committee on the elimination of pneumoconiosis among coal mine workers. Recommendation Nos. 8 and 17. 1996.
    1. Page SJ, Volkwein JC, Vinson RP, et al. : Equivalency of a personal dust monitor to the current United States coal mine respirable dust sampler. J Environ Monit. 10(1):96–101 (2008). - PubMed
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Laboratory and Field Performance of a Continuously Measuring Personal Dust Monitor, by Volkwein JC, Vinson RP, Page SJ, et al. (Report #9669) 2006.

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