The Increasing Importance of Effective Dust Suppression
Due to the incredibly dry climate in parts of Australia, and some of the most stringent safety and environmental management laws in the world, a good dust control strategy is one of the most important considerations in an Australian project, be it mining, construction or civil. Long-term harmful impacts of dust exposure including exposure to silica dust can cause lung disease and lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and silicosis. These conditions can greatly decrease the patient’s quality of life and shorten their lifespan. Strict laws are mandated by local councils, the EPA in each state and by Worksafe.
Dust Suppression in Coal Mining
During the extraction, transport and processing of coal in surface mining operations, significant amounts of airborne respirable dust can be generated. Dust suppression in coal mining is especially important to manage, given the array of harmful toxins and chemicals associated with coal mining. The occupational exposure limit for respirable dust in coal mines is 2.5mg/m3, meaning everyone in the coal mining industry needs to be responsible to getting on top of dust at coal sites to ensure workers have a safe and healthy environment to work in.
How does a mining, civil or construction company ensure their workers are safe from this harmful dust?
Dust Suppression Techniques as recommended by the EPA (Environmental Protection Act)
- Prevent generation of dust (in preference to managing dust when it happens)
- Manage the project schedule to minimise land clearing in drier months
- Pave and water haul roads
- Water areas around haul roads
- Ensure smooth surfaces are deep ripped and left rough and cloddy to reduce wind velocity
- Construction wind fences in built-up areas
- Never have access to less than 2,000 litres of water on your site
- Manage contaminated runoff
- Manage your stockpiles and batters
In an arid country like Australia, it is imperative that a project has adequate water trucks and other dust suppression units on hand to manage the dust clouds, especially during the summer or drought times. One of the most challenging areas in dust suppression on mine sites, is haul roads.
“Mine haul roads are generally dirt roads and sustain continuous heavy vehicle traffic” EPA’s Mark Gifford said, adding “Dust generated from haul roads within the mines is the biggest source of fine dust particles on most mine sites, contributing about 40 per cent of total emissions.
When it is windy and dry, this [overburden] dust is more likely to leave mine sites, so tighter control is needed at these times,” Gifford said.
Haul roads need regular watering to maintain control of dust, and the best machines for haul road dust suppression are specialised water carts. Areas around the haul roads should be also extensively watered, as loose dust and earth around the haul road can be as big a problem as the haul road itself.
Saving Time & Cost in Dust Suppression
Although water remains the best way to control dust onsite, the standard pumps on the dust suppression water trucks are traditionally quite slow, and the time and labour involved in filling the trucks can be extensive. A slow fill process can also lead to a backlog of trucks waiting to be filled, meaning time and labour is wasted, and the unproductive hours add up quickly. Companies looking to run a profitable mine or project are increasingly searching for a faster solution.
This is where a purpose-built dust suppression standpipe comes in. Liquimech understands the challenges faced with dust suppression on mining sites and has designed a rapidly deployable, relocatable and corrosion resistant standpipe, made for use in any application from metropolitan road projects to the harshest of mining environments.
Liquimech’s patented standpipes will fill a water truck in a fraction of the time it takes a standard water truck pump, allowing trucks to move fast through the water fill process and allowing teams to get back to work quickly.
At Liquimech, we focus on our client’s individual worksite challenges, helping to increase productivity and profitability, efficiency and of course, safety. We would love to hear about your challenges and whether you could benefit from our proven standpipe systems.
Are you looking for Relocatable Dust Suppression Units to Protect Stockpiles?
Liquimech has a range of Sprinkler Systems, Stands & Dust Suppression Towers, discover these here: Dust Suppression Units
