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DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(78)24
Vol.1978/0010

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(78)24final.
Brussels,1February1978
MEMORANDUM
Establishment ofaResearchProgramme
"IndustrialHygieneinMines"
COM(78)24final.

V.3I:.0RAÏTDUI'
ESTABLISHMENT 0?ARESEARCH PROCRAJ.H.iii
"INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE INMINES "
I.INTRODUCTION
Sirce 1957 three research programmes related todust control
andhealth inmines have "been implemented inpursuance' orArticle 55oftheEurope anCoal andSteel Community ireaty »^
These programmes have hadtotal credit oi12,900,000 units olaccount ,theThird Programme ,"Health inNines'' ,having credit
of5,0millions' 1unite ofaccount over five' ye*re ,commencing in
1971 .Thecredit allocated totheThird Programme has "been
exhausted ingiving aidtoninety tworesearch •project s«
Theprotection ofthehealth ofminers intnecoal and ij.on-~
stone mines andtheamelioration oftheir working conditions
are continuing commitments and itisproposed that afartherresearch nro.-ranuae ,"Industrial Hygiene inMines :{heinsti­
tuted with acredit of7,000 ,000European Units ofAccount
(E.U.A. )foraperiod offive years .
Iti.3intended thetstudies intheProgramme will relate
essentially tomatters concerning dust andnoxious gasesbut some attention will also hegiven toproblems ofnoise ,
visibility and climate .
II.PSE7ICUS RESEARCH
Bearing inmind thepneumoconiosis problem inmining theresearch hitherto hasconsidered essentially allaspects of
theprevention ofthis disease andinaddition theproblems
posed bymine airpollutants other than dust ,notably those
arising from theuse ofdiesel powered machinery and
explosives underground .
Thethree main areas ofresearch encompassed bythethree
programmes have been ?•
1.Technical methods ofenvironmental control

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2.Tonitoring ofthe environraent .
3.Therelationship between environmental factors and health .
Valuable progress hasbeen made from theresearch projects
undertaken and aconsiderable amount oftheknowledge gained
from them has already had practical application inthe coal
and iron-ore mines ofthe Community .Inthe Third Programme ,
many ofthe projects of vhich are still going on,the three
main fields embraced were those detailed above and the
following gives information onsome ofthe projects conducted
inthose fields .
1.Technical methods ofenvironmental control
Technical developments *"have necessitated adapting existing
methods ofdust control tomeet the demands posed bythenew ,
more difficult conditions an'1thedevelopment and testing of
new control methods tomeet the ever more demanding new
machinery andmethods ofexploitation .
I.luch has been learned about the factors affecting the pro­
duction ofdust and its dispersal into the mine ventilation .
This has led toimprovements inthe design and operation of
winning machines ,particularly involving reduced numbers of
cutting picks ondrums and discs and reduction inpick speeds ,
andmtheapplication ofprocesses toeffect improved dust
prevention and suppression .
High efficiency dust collectors have been successfully
developed for drivages and experimental systems forface
machines have achieved tangible success .
Results have been encouraging inthe study ofaircurtain .
technology toprovide anenclosed area ofacceptable con­
ditions and also tofacilitate du3t extraction .Success has
also been achieved indust control bythe use ofmore con­
ventional screening measures .
The study ofdust formation and itsreduction inface workings
during themovement ofpowered face supports hasresulted in
the use ofplastic sheeting between the support canopies and
the roof and the development ofwater powered extractors
between canopies toentrain dust anddeposit itinthewaste .
Dust control atunderground coal breakers also received
attention and ithas been shown that adequate screening and
automatic water spray application canameliorate conditions .
Tests shewed that thevarying power consumption ofthe
breaker isthemost suitable factor toregulate water spraying .

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Awider knowledge has "been gained oftheapplication otwacer
• infusion andtheuseofadditives bo "fellfor v/ater intusiun and
direct application with dust suppression water .Eesuitsachieved with additives have "been variable but'..improvements in
" dust conditions hav8 'been noted incases where used in ^ •
connection with infusion ,plough track spx-ayi ngandmmex
transportât ion .
Infusion processes were developed fortheworking ofthica
seams with enphasis onminimum maintenance andsupervision
andmonitoring oftheoperation -Studies have also beenundertaken todetermine themovement anddistribution oruhe
water inthecoal seam andtotrytopredict theeffective­
ness ofinfusion .Acomprehensive manual onwater infusion
'vt-c produced .
Toachieve more effective dilution ofdust and ^fumes'
j improved ventilation wasobtained intheLorraine iron-ore
i mines bythedrilling oflarge diameter bore holes ,,After
i initial pilot boring of400 windiameter ,raise boring ,3«om
! diameter ,wasdone in13holes over aperiod ofthree years .
! Inspection oftheholes isdone bya.magnetoscopic film
' camera suspended intheshafts ,thus obviating thenecessity
forpersons tobeinthen .
2.Mom'toring ofthe environnent
jjesesirch has shown "thevalue ofgravimetric sampling asa
reliable andaccurate technique andthe selective grav 2meone
! sampling ofrespirable dust isnowaccepted asthestandard
j method ofmea--.urer.ient inBritish ,French andGerman coal
| mines .InBelgium gravimetric measurement oftot&l _dust ^is
I used .Continuous shift-length sampling atfixed points is
also ingeneral use ,Thus comparisons between thedifferentcountries arenoweasier toundertake andacurrent joint
research iscomparing assessments ofdustiness oncoal ,faces
inthefour countries using thedifferent national sampling
instruments andmethods ofsampling and evaluation#
Duct surveillance procedures using both static andpersona ,!
samplers "have b'een studied ,with aview.;to -.securing ,the
efficient and economical coverage ofallworkplaces .
There i3complete agreement ontheneed tobeable tocon­
| tinuously indicate and/orrecord airborne dust conditions as
i anaid todust control and tothis endresearch has .been
j devoted toinstrument design anddevelopment .Several _proto-
! types ofoneinstrument developed ,having such facilities ,_
I andalso thefacility totelemeter theinformation ,arebeing
evaluated 'inmines 'throughout the Community.'
1
!
S

«A-
Research hascommenced oiltheproblem ofmeasuring th©larger
inhaled dust particles .
During thecourse oftheThird Programme amethod ofmeasuringfull shift exposures tonitrous fumes hasbeen developed for
coal mining use .This isachieved through theuseofanattachment toadust sampler sothat both gasanddust are
sampled together .
3.Environmental factors andhealth
Epidemiological studies inthemining countries oftheCommunity have shown essentially similar relationshipsbetween pneumoconiosis risk andrespirable dust concentrationbutthere exist important differences inthepneumoconiosis
risk between collieries andcoal fields ,dueapparently to
differences inthespecific toxicity oftheduets ^.Thesedifferences cannot yetbeexplained interms ofthequartz
andother mineral ogical components ofthedust .^A.four nation
project toexamine relationships between epidemiologicalfindings anddust toxicity iscurrently being pursued .
Research ho.sbeen undertaken inthefield ofairpollution by
diesel vehicles andshot–firing underground .Intheiron­
stone mines ofFrance this hasledtotheuseofdiesel
engines emitting less pollutants andcurrent researcn relates
tothepossible useofturbines underground andthestudy of
soot inthe fumes from diesel engines .
Noise hasrecently assumed increased importance inconnection
with occupational health andresearch isbeing undertaken to
assess noise levels anddraw upanoise plan xoraniron- _
stone mine with aview toeffecting theattenuations shown to
benecessary .This work complements thecomprehensive list
ofprojects relating tonoise being done inthe .Ergonomics
Research Progran-me .
III .ASSOCIATED ACTIVITIES
Inaddition tothis research ondust control andhealth in
mines theCommunity aids research relating tosafety inmines ,
anewCommunity Programme ,"Safety inMines ",being established
in1976 with credit of7.5millions E.U .A.over five years .
Also ,inthefield ofindustrial health andsafety the
Community hasprogrammes on"Ergonomics ","Chronic RespiratoryDiseases "and "Pollution Control intheIron andSteel
Industries"' ..
Inaddition toresearch ofasocial nature coming under the
Mrco -torato -Ocnoyal forSsplcmnOEris &adBooiai Affairs ,Direction "Goal"

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ofDirectorate-General ,fEn9rtsywfina.ioiallyaidstechnicala-nueconomic
researchrelating "tocoalandiroa-ox*©mining,aocounfc^beitig^takenofhealthandsafetymattersassociatedwiththeresearch*Also,the
Directorats-General •'Ressarob,SciencearidEducation"hasacomprehensive
researchprogrammeconcerningtheenviromaatandthiacontainsmatters
whichrelatecloselytoindustrialhygiene*
Toeffectsatisfactoryresearchinallthesefieldsentailscloseco­
operationbetwoenalltherelevantdisciplinesandintheformationofa
newprogramme&u©aocountwillhavetohetakenoftheresearcho.onoarid
beingdoneintheotherprogrammes.Particularlyclosoco-operationmil
banecessarywhendifferentdisciplinesaretouchingonthesamesubject,
bothinthepreparationandtheexecutionofanewpro.eire.mrs©formines*
IV*THEPROGRâMUE
1.General
TheThirdProgrammerelatedresearchrequirementatotharealitiesco­
operatingtechniquesandproductionenvisagingacontinuationofincreased
meonanisat1on,.concentration ofproductioninfewerproducingunitsand
maximisation ofshiftanddailyoutputsfromtheunitsofproduction.
Ingeneraltheseexpecteddevelopmentshavematerialised "bringingattendantdifficultiesfortheworkingenvironment «Nodoubttheireffect-awill
continuetobefeltduringtheperiodofanynewprogramme,andthis,
togetherwithfurtherdevelopment9inthesamedirectionandfurthernormal
technicalprogresswillmakethedesiredworkingenvirorcmimorsdifficult
tomaintainandimprove#
Thattherewillbeaneedtomaintainandindeedimprovetheminingworlctng
environmentiaindisputable•Bearinginmindthecurrentandprojected
energysituation,whichdemandsmaximumuyooftheConanuniti^e*indigenous
fuelsupplies,itwill'benecessarytomaketheminingindustryassafe
andhealthyaspossibleinordertoattractthenecessaryrecruitsandtoretainitspersonnel®Furthermore,naturalsocialpressureswill*rightly,,
demandeverimprovingstandardsandconditions,rcfis.t&&toresearch
findings,intheworkingenvironmentandthisnomoresothaninthecoal
andiron-oreminingindustries.
Asresearchprogressesandtheanswerstosomeproblemsarefounddoors
areopenedtootherproblemsrequiringsolution.Noresultisinviolable ^
andtherencyarisethenecessityformodificationinthelightofchanging
circumstances .Forinstanceinitialrosearchinrelationtoairbornedust
wasdirectedtowardsprotectionagainstsilicosiswhich.,inturn,

-6-
wasfollowed "byresearch directed towards protection againstmixed dust pneumoconiosis *Nowthestage hasbeen reached to
consider pneumoconiosis andother dust related diseases ...
Recent research isshowing ,that incoal mines theinfluence
ofquartz inthedevelopment ofmixed dust pneumoconiosis maynotheaspreviously hypothesised andthat possibly largersized airborne particles ,notnormally considered inthe
context ofpneumoconiosis ,mayrelate toother diseases such
asbronchitis and emphysema .
Thus research isacontinuing process andthepoints outlined
illustrate theneed forfurther research inthefield of
health inmines .
Itisnecessary toensure that therequisite health factorsreceive consideration from theoutset anaareinbuilt vvitlj
newmachinery ,systems andmethods .Inparticular thelikelyeffects resulting from theuseofnewsubstances undergroundshould notbeoverlooked .Anewprogramme should beinstituted
andshould ,ingeneral ,bebased onthesame three broad
fields asthelast one .Thepredominantly pneumoconiosis ,
orientated research should bebroadened ,although still _
concentrating essentially onthis disease ,toinclude studies
bearing onother diseases which maybeinter-related botiafrom thedisease andthedust aspects .Inparticular the
interplay between themining noxious gases anddusts ahdthe
"bearing of *th.6 s*tonegofIJIIQ "twoon fcfr6incidsrxcB of "tn©related diseases should beconsidered .Research into noise ,
visibility andclimate should also beconsidered .
Anyresearch undertaken must berelevant totheneeds ofthecoal andiron mining industries andgive results capable •ox
successful practical .application inasshort atime aspossible .Practical application isvital andmust beeffected
with minimum delay . -
Indefining theresearch aims ofaprogramme dueaccount willhave tobetaken ofrelated research ,'both within andcutside
theCommission ,toensure maximum co-ordination between _
different programmes andthat attheendofthedaymaximumbenefit hasbeen derived from themoney andeffort expended .
Oneparticular facet oftheThird Research Programme wastheintroduction ofjoint projects whereby aproject was
researched together byseveral institutes inthesame ordifferent countries andco-ordinated byaproject leader .
This approach should bedeveloped asmuch aspossible asitisfelt that amulti-national joint approach toacommon problem ,
particularly inthefield ofindustrial health ,canrepay -,farmore than several individual researches .pursued bymember
countries .

-7-.
2.Contents cf •Programme
IIisproposed that anenprogramme should continue research
inthedirection already taken "bytheprevious one ,pursue
logical consequences arising from this andcommence new re-
secrchconsidered desirable andrelating tochethree mam
fields ofresearch .
Thefollowing indicates these main fields andunder each is
shewn pertinent research projects which ,although "bynomeans
exhaustive ,should moat certainly "beconsidered -Atthesame
time theapproach should 'besufficiently "broad toallow the
inclusion ofother topics asconsidered necessary .
Technical methods ofenvironmental control
Under this main heading would beincluded allresearch rel­
ating totechnical methods ofcontrolling theenvironment and
inparticular should include :
Research into the effects ofnewmachines and techniques on
themake ofdust andother pollutants andthereduction of
make byimprovements inmachine design andtechniques .
Research into theimprovement ofdust collecting techniques ,
inparticular extraction units ,asthis seems aparticularlyfertile field .Theaim would "betodevelop more compact and
efficient units andthese may beofvarying types asat
present noparticular type seems likely toprovide auniversal
solution .
Research into air curtain technology with emphasis onde- .
veloping andperfecting techniques toprovide afresh air
environment for workmen and anenclosure within ,which to
practise dust control .Also theuse ofthermal convection air
currents for the dilution ofdusts and gases .
Research into thedesign parameters forpowered supports ,to
minimise make cfdust inconnection with their function under­
ground ,andinto improvement ofthemethods ofdealiiig with
dust created .
Further studies oftherelationship "between dust andmine
climate with particular reference tothepattern ofdeposition
and thegranulometry ofairborne dust * . '
Studies toeffect ever more efficient wet suppression systems
asthis remains ,and islikely toremain ,theprincipal
suppression method .Further research into theuse ofadditives
fordust control purposes interms ofwetting ,binding and
evaporation retardant capacities ¥

~8
Further research into water infusion related essentially to
theneed forautomation andremote monitoring ofthetechnique
andtothemonitoring ofthewater inthestrata .
Research into thedesign anddevelopment ofindividual pro­
tection togive anunpolluted working atmosphere .
Inalltheresearches dueattention should "bepaid tothe
effects ofproposals onother aspects oftheworking environ­
ment notspecifically related totheproposal .
(V)Monitoring theenvironnent
Research should bepursued "toensure "tha."b themeasurement ;ox
dust inthevarious countries oftheCommunity can "berelated
reliably onetotheother with thegoal ofgeneral agreementondust standards ,"both interms ofconcentration andmineral
composition ,andthemeasurement ofdust .Toachieve thisgreater knowledge ofdust formation anddeposition related to
time and location will benecessary .
Under this broad heading thefollowing should bepursued :
Thedevelopment andimprovement ofdust sampling instruments
andanalytical methods fordetermining chemical ,physical and
mineral properties ofthemining atmosphere .
Thedesign anddevelopment ofinstruments forcontinuouslyrecording andindicating dust levels ,andalso forinstan -aneous short-term measurement purposes .There should belull
development ofautomated measuring stations with telemetering
anddata processing facilities .
Thedevelopment ofoptimum dust sampling strategies toPro­vide information ondust conditions atworkplaces throughout
themine sothat dust control effort andpersonnel deployment
canbeappropriately directed .
Thedevelopment ofinstrumentation formeasuring other aircontaminants ,including airborne radioactive materials andwith particular emphasis onfurther development ofmeasuring
techniques fornitrous fumes .
(c)Environmental factors andhealth
Under this heading itisforseen that aconsiderable amount
ofresearch may emerge .

■*'9–
Inparticular ,the following should baundertaken ?
Further studies totry todetermine safe dust limits for the
employment ofpersona with early signs ofpneumoconiosis .
Research into the specific harm-fulness ofdusts ,involving
epidemiological andlaboratory studies ,toenable levels for
airborne dust to "beexpressed interms ofthe actual health
hazard involved .
Further research into the effects onhealth offumes and
noxious gases arising from the use ofdiesel engines and
explosives including synergistic effects with dust inpneu­
moconiosis and bronchitis .
Studies relating toindividual susceptibility todust and
other pollutants .
Research toensure comparability ofthe qualitative and
quantitative measure ofdust concentrations and theuniform
radiological assessment ofpneumoconiosis throughout the
Community ,the latter part ofthe research being undertaken
inthemedical programme onchronic respiratory diseases .
Studies ofnewmaterials inorder toassess the health danger
which may arise intheir use inthe raining situation .
Furthermore ,asindicated inthe introduction ,research into
the problems ofnoise ,visibility and climate where they
constitute ahealth risk ,are considered desirable *
Inthis section inparticular due regard will .have tobepaid
tothe necessary multi-disciplinary studies ,and tofull co­
operation and co-ordination ofthe work undertaken toensure
that the desired results are achieved .
V.UNDERTAKING OFRESEARCH WOHK
Theresearch work under theprogramme would ,ingeneral ,be
undertaken bythemining research establishments inthe
Community .These institute ...have ,for themost part .,already
undertaken Community sponsored research aswell asbeing
employed regularly onnationally sponsored work .Toenable
effective use ofresources and theprogramme tobesatis­
factorily accomplished ,research should beallocated inthe
way beat suited tothe facilities and general research
direction ofthe various institutes , '

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VI.PROCEDURES
After acceptance ,previous programmes have been controlled in
amanner which hasproved generally satisfactory .Three
advisory committees ,aResearch Committee ,theCommittee ofProducers and 'workers onIndustrial Safety andMedicine and
theCommittee ofGovernment Experts ,composed ofmembers having
therelevant expertise ,offer pertinent advice tothe
Commission when projects arebeing considered forfinancial
aid .
Onacceptance ofaproject bytheCommission itiscontrolled
byacontract ,binding thebeneficiary andtheCommission ,
which details requirements including theprovision oftech­
nical reports relating totheresearch .These areexamined
anddiscussed byrelevant groups ofexperts whomeet andoffer
pertinent advice totheCommission .Onoccasions ,.asnecess­
ary ,these groups meet atthevarious research centres ormines where research isbeing done sothat they canexamine
and evaluate atfirst hand theresearch onwhich they advise .
Itisproposed that anewprogramme would becontrolled in
this way . ■.. .
VII .RESEARCH RESULTS
Details ofresearch and results achieved should bemade known
to .allinterested parties .Bytheprocedures described above
theresearch reports aremade known tomembers ofthegroups
ofexperts without delay .Theexperts arealldrawn from the
mining industries oftheCommunity countries sothat research
results are made known tothese industries .
Forwider dissemination ofinformation ontheresearch under­
taken precied details ofresearch accorded financial aidare
contained inEuro Abstracts andprecied final reports on
projects areincluded asthey become available together with
anypatents arising from theresearch .Inaddition anyperson
orbody requiring acomplete final report mayhave iton,
request .
During thelife ofaprogramme areport detailing projects and
progress isalso published anddistributed .
Methods toimprove dissemination ofinformation arealways
being sought butitisthought that thesystem described
should operate satisfactorily andthis will beused foranynewprogramme ,.Improvements within theframework will

11
continue tobesought totry tomake inforrstion onthe
research aswidely known aspossible .
The I.lnes Safety andHealth Conuuiasion operates inthe field
ofsafety andhealth 'byway ofexchange ofexperiences "between
the Iember States .The Commission 'smandate enables itto
propose research andfrom available information make proposals
relating tohealth and safety inmines .The results ofall
pertinent research arebrought tothenotice ofthe Commission .
VIII .FINANCIAL ASPECTS AND DURATION 0?PROGTIAITE
Preyious programmes ,inthefields ofboth health and safety ,
have been offive years' duration .This period has proved of
sufficient duration toenable tangible findings toemerge
froa research and not too long from the point ofapplication
ofresults tothe practical situation .Ingeneral projects
have been oftwo and sometimes three years' duration and this
too would beapplied within the concept ofanoverall pro­
gramme duration offive years ,this being the proposed
duration .
Inarriving atacosting for aprogramme ,this including
financial aid and subsidiary expenses associated with running
the Programme and disseminating results ,extending over the
next five years dueaccount hasbeen taken ofthe costs of
research previously undertaken ,the pattern ofrising costs ,
the annual budget allocated for research ofasocial nature
inthe coal and steel sector and the staffing available and
needed toadequately administer such aprogramme .
Taking into account these factors ,and that aid accorded by
the Community can beamaximum of75/«ofthe total costs of
aproject ,the beneficiary financing theremainder ,itis
considered that ,togive asatisfactory prograrjue which would
contribute substantially towards improved environmental
conditions inmines ,atotal financial aid of7,000,000
European Units ofAccount over the period offive years ,
commencing in1977 ,would benecessary .
IX.CONCLUSIONS
TheCommission oftheEuropean Communities ,
-considering theneed topromote research relating to
Industrial hygiene Inmines :

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-taking account ofthefavourable opinions andexpressedagreement ,as""ellastheir views onresearch ,oxtheprofessional ,governmental andscientific consultative
committees consulted ;
-considering Article 55oftheEuropean Coal andSteelCommunity Treaty ;
Proposes ;
~"toassign 7,000,000 European Units ofAccount fora
period offive years commencing 1977 foraResearch
Programme "Industrial Hygiene inMines ".