Dust Monitoring at Mines and Quarries
Channel: Oizom
Date: 2021-03-15

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The world is transitioning towards low carbon alternatives to reduce its carbon footprint. The majority of the countries have their own timeline and targets for sustainable development goals (SDGs). Additionally, the transport sector is undergoing a major shift toward electric vehicles. The increasing demands for renewable and clean energy sources such as electric vehicles, solar panels, etc. have their roots in the Earth’s crust. Mining of Nickel, Cobalt, Lithium, etc. is going to increase. It is estimated that Lithium demand will be nearly 1.3 million tonnes of LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent) by the year 2025. The booming of the mining and construction industries also bring an uninvited guest: Dust Pollution. 

Mining and quarrying sites are one of the major sources of dust pollution. Dust monitoring at mine and quarries become crucial as the dust particles consisting of particulate matter (Size Range: 1 micrometre to 100 micrometres) cause detrimental health effects. Oizom’s DustroidTM can be deployed at the mining site and around the boundary to monitor PM1, PM2.5, PM10, PM100 and provide useful insights through data analysis.

Mining in India, dust monitoring in mines and quarries
Mining in India
Why should we monitor dust at mines and quarries?
Globally, India ranks high for overall mineral production with rich sources of Coal, Mica, Aluminium, Steel, Lead, etc. The mining, on-site extraction, and processing of these minerals cause severe air pollution and water pollution. Several complaints are filed in India by the citizens, about the deterred air quality due to mining processes. Steel and coal mines were exempted during the nationwide lockdown increasing the dust pollution in the nearby area. 

The raw materials for the construction such as stones, sand, limestone, etc. are obtained through open-pit mining, also known as quarrying. Activities such as drilling, excavation, dynamite mining cause severe dust generation and particulate pollution. Processes like smelting at mines produce toxic gases such as sulfur oxides. Moreover, dust pollution due to mining for battery materials like lithium, lead, and radioactive materials like Uranium contains traces of those metals, which are carcinogenic in nature. 

The underground mining sites pose even a graver threat to the miners due to insufficient ventilation. The dust particulates suspended in the enclosed area gets trapped and increases the dust concentration. High dust concentration reduces visibility and causes respiratory diseases to the workers. The workers and miners without proper protection masks may suffocate and experience serious health problems. As the safety of the worker at mining and quarrying sites is the liability of the mining company, it becomes mandatory for them to follow the OSHA standards and not to breach the prescribed exposure limit. Dust monitoring at mines and quarries is a primary step to curb particulate pollution ensuring better ambient air quality.

Dust monitoring enforced by Regulatory bodies for mines and quarries 
Globally the government and environmental agencies have implemented strict regulations and stringent standards regarding air quality at mining and quarrying sites. The new policies and guidelines are planned to keep in mind the exponential growth in the demand for minerals and its implication on mining industries. It is mandatory for the mining companies to provide monitoring and mitigative strategies while getting environmental clearance. 

With more stringent government regulations, dust monitoring at mines becomes an integral part of sustainable mining. According to the direction of the National Green Tribunal, it is mandatory to identify the sources of pollution and dust generation at the mining sites. The yearly compliance report of the monitoring should be submitted to the required authority during the environmental audits.  The Enforcement and Monitoring guidelines for Sand Monitoring (2020) suggested using water sprinklers to control dust pollution and particulate matter at the quarry, mines, and deposit sites. 

Open mines and quarries are also the potential fugitive sources for the dust particles as they are easily dispersed and carried away by the winds. The mines at the famous Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), years after its closure, acts as a fugitive source of dust particles. The mine dust mixed with sodium cyanide has caused respiratory tract infections and skin allergies to the citizens living nearby.

Dustroid Dust Monitor can used for Particulate Monitoring and TSP Monitoring at quarries to install dust suppression solutions.