Personal Dust Monitor
Research and development on the Personal Dust Monitor began in 2003 [1] Instead of relying on the dust sampling system that had been in use since the 1970s, which required miners to discontinue work and take air samples to test respirable dust, the Personal Dust Monitor is a device that provides continuous assessment of respirable dust. In doing so, the device helps mines better cooperate with the The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 which requires coal mine dust levels to be at maximum 2 mg m-3 per shift [2]. As a result of better monitoring, miners are less exposed to high levels of coal dust, which in turn reduces the prevalence of developing coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP). NIOSH received the Department of Health and Human Services HHSI award for its work on the Personal Dust Monitor in 2010 [3].
References
- ↑ United States, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor. (2009). Respirable Coal Min Dust: Continuous Personal Dust Monitor (CPDM) (Vol. 74, no. 197).
- ↑ Page, S. J., Volkwein, J. C., Vinson, R. P., Joy, G. J., Mischler, S. E., Tuchman, D. P., & McWilliams, L. J. (2008, January). Mining Publication: Equivalency of a Personal Dust Monitor to the Current United States Coal Mine Respirable Dust Sampler. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 10(1), 96-101. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/UserFiles/works/pdfs/eoapd.pdf
- ↑ Howard, J. (2010, September). From the Director's Desk. NIOSH ENews. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/enews/enewsV8N5.html Volume 8 Number 5 September 2010
