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Respirable Dust and Respirable Crystalline Silica Concentration in Workers of Copper Mine, Mongolia
Зохиогч
Altansukh Otgonnasan
Oyu Tsogtbayar
Zoljargal Erdenechimeg
Tsatsral Ganbold
Tergel Namsrai
Naransүkh Damiran
Он
2022 оны нэгдүгээр сарын 1
Төрөл
journal article
Хэвлэгч
Scientific Research Publishing
Journal
Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine
Volume
10
Issue
03
Start Page
167
End Page
179
ISSN
2333-3561
2333-357X
Хураангуй
Introduction: Prosperity in the mining industry in Mongolia has led to an increase in the number of mining workers, resulting in an increase in occupational exposures and the prevalence of occupational diseases and disabilities. The aim of this study was to assess the personal exposure of workers to respirable dust (RD) and respirable crystalline silica (RCS). Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Erdenet Copper Ore Mining and included 581 personal samples of RD and 324 samples of RCS, collected in 2018-2020. Results: The study results revealed that the geometric mean (GM) of RD was 0.35 mg/m3 (95% CI 0.32 - 0.39). The RD concentration in 5.9% (n = 34) of all the samples exceeded the permissible exposure level (PEL) (3 mg/mg3). The GM of RCS was 0.012 mg/m3 (95% CI 0.010 - 0.016). In total, 12.0% (n = 39) of all RCS sample concentrations exceeded the PEL (0.1 mg/m3). Conclusion: Steel smelters, blasters, welders, and maintenance laborers were exposed to RD, while crushers, operators, drilling machinists, and maintenance laborers were exposed to RCS. Therefore, regular monitoring of the work environment, risk-based health examinations for dust-exposed workers, efficient support for dust mitigation, reduction measures at the source, and engineering controls are needed.