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Mining Contract: Miniaturized PDM Providing Smaller, Lighter, Quieter and Lower Cost Operation
Keywords: Personal dust monitors
This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.
Contract #
75D30118C02590Start Date
9/1/2018End Date
8/16/2019Research Concept
The technology anticipated upon completion of this contract could be valuable to the industry, as current PDM units are commonly perceived as bulky. Current units are only mandated to be worn for compliance sampling, but having  smaller, less expensive units to wear every shift may offer additional benefits to miners.
Contract Status & Impact
This contract is complete. To receive a copy of the final report, send a request to mining@cdc.gov.
Respirable dust—particles that are so small they are deposited into the lungs when inhaled—are imperceptible to the naked eye, but the effects can be long-lasting and permanent. Black lung disease causes irreversible breathing problems that affect quality of life and often lead to disability and premature death.
Historic dust sampling equipment only provided an average dust concentration over the entire sampling period, not dynamic data as conditions changed within a shift. The recently implemented continuous personal dust monitor (PDM) provides time-correlated data, but is bulky and heavier than desired. Currently, MSHA regulations require that coal mines check for respirable coal mine dust exposures for certain high-risk occupations over the course of 15 consecutive shifts each calendar quarter. The current version of the PDM offers information to workers while in the mine and has led to improvements in complying with applicable dust standards.
Many miners have said they would like to use a continuous PDM to monitor their dust exposure even when it’s not a designated sampling period. However, the weight, bulkiness, and expense have hindered use of this instrument beyond that required for compliance sampling.
This contract with Biomarine  seeks to address this problem by designing and developing a miniaturized personal dust monitor based on measuring the impact of accelerated dust particles upon a stationary piezo-film.
See Also
Continuous Respirable Mine Dust Monitor Development
Determining the Spatial Variability of Personal Sampler Inlet Locations
Equivalency of a Personal Dust Monitor to the Current United States Coal Mine Respirable Dust Sampler
Laboratory and Field Performance of a Continuously Measuring Personal Respirable Dust Monitor
Laboratory Evaluation of Pressure Differential-based Respirable Dust Detector Tube
Miners' Views about Personal Dust Monitors
Miners' Views About Personal Dust Monitors
An Overview of Fundamental and Emerging Technologies to Monitor and Control Respirable Dust in Underground Coal Mines in the United States
Performance of a Prototype Personal Dust Monitor for Coal Mine Use
Real-Time DPM Ambient Monitoring in Underground Mines
Page last reviewed: August 28, 2019
Page last updated: January 11, 2019
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
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