Australasian Mining Review
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/37922
90 Dust and Blast Monitoring The success and encouragement of the Australian mining industry is critical to our economic success, however, public awareness of the environmental risks due to mining are increasing, almost every week there is an article in the news covering the health risks that mining presents to the local community if environmental control activities are not properly managed. Some of the most signifi cant environmental impacts are due to dust emissions and in some regions the impact of blasting activities. D ust or particulate matter (PM) exposure can lead to a variety of health effects. For example, numerous studies link particle levels to increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits and even to death from heart or lung diseases. Both long (over years) and short term (hours or days) particle exposure have been linked to health problems. Nuisance impacts from dust are usually associated with coarse particles and particles larger than PM10 (10 micron diameter). The impact of dust from a nearby mine on local amenity depends on the distance from the mine site and climatic conditions such as wind speed and direction. Dust can be generated by mining activities such mechanical disturbance of rock and soil materials by dragline or shovel, bulldozing, blasting, and vehicles on dirt roads, dust is also generated when wind blows over bare ground and different types of stockpiles. Fine particles are also generated from vehicle emissions. Concerns about mine site dust often relate to “visibility” of dust plumes. Visible dust is usually due to short-term episodes of high emissions, such as from blasting. Other impacts include dust depositing on washing or on house roofs, and the transport of dust from roofs to water tanks, during rain. Blasting which is necessary for the recovery of ore or stone not only generates dust but usually results in both ground and airborne vibration, the latter commonly includes both audible noise and vibration known as air blast, which can cause objects vibrate. At the levels experienced from blasting associated with mining, structural damage to adjoining properties is unlikely to occur. In addition, the noise levels experienced from blasting at a mine site, is unlikely to cause any hearing damage to anyone outside the worksite. However some discomfort from blasting can occur when noise startles individuals or when air blast or ground vibration causes vibration of windows or other items at a sensitive site. The degree of annoyance is due to both the level of airblast and vibration as well as factors such as the time of day, the frequency of occurrence and the sensitivity of individuals. Regulations exist throughout Australia for permissible dust concentrations for PM10 (dust particles less than 10 microns) and new standards are set to be implemented for PM2.5. Regulations also exist in many states for blasting and it is recommended that blast vibration and airblast monitoring should be carried out at all sites where blasting occurs and where there are sensitive sites. Increasing community awareness and government regulations have thus resulted in increasing pressure on mine operators to implement environmental monitoring activities which employ innovative, defensible and practical monitoring technology. Monitoring technology for both dust and vibration monitoring has changed little in principle over the past decade or two, what has changed is communication technology and the ease with which data can be obtained from monitoring equipment, validated and reported. It is these advances in communication and data management that are providing the real benefi ts to the mining industry. [Dust and Blast Monitoring] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _