Sustainability website / Case Studies 2005 / Leading practice dust management at Beltana

Leading practice dust management at Beltana

The introduction of engineering controls on the Beltana longwall has dramatically reduced dust exposure for its underground team and established a new industry benchmark.

Historically, longwall extraction could generate high levels of airborne dust, potentially exposing operators to respirable dust levels above occupational exposure standards.

Due to the composition of coal at Beltana highwall operation, the dust generated can have high quartz content, creating a high-risk health hazard. Respirable quartz has been identified as carcinogenic to humans and chronic exposure can cause lung fibrosis (silicosis).

Safety Systems Coordinator Andrew Harvey said to manage this health hazard, Beltana had adopted a risk management process using the hierarchy of control; that is:

• eliminate the risk;
• control the risk at its source;
• minimise the risk by means that include the design of safe work systems; and
• in so far as the risk remains, provide for the use of personal protective equipment.

The diagram below illustrates the hierarchy of control and the related dust control measures being undertaken at Beltana. Andrew Harvey described some key initiatives put in place to minimise dust as a health hazard.

"Our Electrical Engineering team has been able to eliminate the need for a shearer operator to be positioned on the tailgate side of the shearer (the area of highest dust exposure) by automating the shearer's return run to the tailgate," he said.

"We have been working with CSIRO (the Australian government research body) and Dust Management International to develop a shearer scrubber – an engineering solution that will draw the dust generated by the longwall's shearer away from the shearer operator.

"We are also participating in an independent study with Hydra Tools (UK) on pick and spray design. By redesigning picks and water sprays, we have been able to make significant reductions in dust generation at the source.

"Average respirable dust has been reduced from 2mg/m³ to 0.9mg/m³ following the implementation of the engineering controls. Reductions have been verified through our personal sampling results and independent dust samplers," he said.

Hierarchy of control and the related dust control measures being undertaken at Beltana
Hierarchy of control
Elimination or Substitution »		Shearer Automation - repeat cut
Engineering Design »		Shearer Scrubber Water Sprays Ventilation Systems
Administration systems »		Respiratory Protection programme Dust surveys Dust rules, operator producers & training
Personal Protective Equipment »		Air Stream helmet (protection factor +100) Disposable dust masks (protection factor up to 10)