# Research Status of Pathogenesis of Pneumoconiosis and Dust Control Technology in Mine--A Review
## 1 Introduction  
Mine pneumoconiosis is a general term for lung diseases caused by long-term inhalation of dust in the production environment. Diffuse pulmonary fibrosis is the main stage, which is an irreversible and disabling disease. According to statistics of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) in China [1; 2; 3], CWP caused by pure coal dust (silica content <8%) accounts for about 10%, CWP caused by silica dust accounts for about 10%, CWP caused by mixed dust such as coal dust and silica dust mainly occurs in mixed jobs accounting for more than 80%. The pneumoconiosis of coal miners mainly occurs underground, and the incidence of pneumoconiosis of open-pit coal miners is very low. Coal worker pneumoconiosis can also occur in other workers exposed to large amounts of pulverized coal, such as coal loader workers. At present, the pathogenesis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis is not clear, and there is no effective treatment to cure coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is not only one of the common occupational diseases in developing countries [1; 2; 3], but also very serious in developed countries [4; 5]. In recent years, with the improvement of the level of mine mechanization, the dust pollution problem of mines has become serious, threatening the occupational health of workers and seriously affecting the safety and health image of enterprises. The primary sources of respirable coal mine dust have been found to be coal seam and surrounding rock strata, intake air, diesel exhaust, mining operations and rock dusting. In addition, the dust from shotcrete area mainly includes two dust sources: the dust generated by feeding and the dust generated by spraying. All dust production is affected by the mining method, ventilation conditions and other factors. According to the data in [6,7], the dust ratio of the coal mining face is 50%, the dust ratio of the heading face is 35%, the dust ratio of the shotcrete operation point is 10%, and the dust ratio of others is 5%. Among them, the coal mining, tunneling and shotcrete operating area accounted for more than 95% of the total coal mine dust production. Mine occupational disease is seriously harmful in China, and mine dust-induced pneumoconiosis is the biggest occupational disease hazard. It is reported in [8] from the National Health Commission that by the end of 2020, a total of 1,011,500 cases of occupational diseases had been reported in China, with pneumoconiosis accounting for about 85 percent of the total; an additional 17,000 cases of occupational pneumoconiosis were reported nationwide in 2020. Pneumoconiosis is mainly distributed in the mining industry, showing a trend of younger age, covering a wide range of groups, and potentially harmfulness. Pneumoconiosis costs 8 billion yuan every year, which is the most serious occupational disease that harms miners' physical and mental health; the current medical level can not cure pneumoconiosis, with the mortality rate as high as 22.04% [8,9]. The number of miners exposed to dust in China ranks first in the world. There are many places with a high concentration of dust underground, such as the coal mining face and heading face. Therefore, it is very necessary to develop dust monitoring technologies and improve the existing measures of dust suppression to reduce mine dust concentration. Most scholars only carry out research on a single dust control technology used for coal mine face or heading face, etc., and there have been few studies on the comprehensive theoretical and technical system of dust control that can be applied for all coal mine dust sources. In shotcrete, with the development of wet (damp) concrete mixing technology and equipment in advance, dry material and enough water are fully mixed into wet material in the wet mixing barrel, resulting in shotcrete material producing almost no dust, although there is still dust in the feeding process. Therefore, the study of dust control in mines is extremely urgent.