Publication Date |
2006 |
Personal Author |
Luo, Y.; Peng, S. S.; Guffey, S. |
Page Count |
75 |
Abstract |
Longwall mining is a highly productive and very safe mining method employed in underground coal mine. In recent years, about 52 coal mines employing longwall mining method account for more than 50% of underground coal production while nearly 1,000 room and pillar mines make up the remaining production. However, due to the high degree of mechanization and the confined environment, noise levels at longwall mining faces are normally high. Constant exposure to such a noisy environment for an extended period could lead to permanent hearing loss for the workers. The two major sources of noise in a longwall face are: (1) the machine noises produced by the mining machines, and (2) the background noises produced by the breakage and movement of surrounding rock strata in the process for them to reach a new equilibrium after being disturbed by the mining activities. The machine noises contribute the major portion of the noise exposures to the workers. The background noise is a piece of very useful information for the workers to detect and predict harmful ground movement events. Therefore, it is desirable to leave the background noise intact. The main objectives of this research are: (1) to characterize the noise environment in longwall mining with the particular emphasis on the noise sources generated by various mining machines, (2) to identify the main noise sources that the miners are exposed to, and (3) to develop engineering controls to reduce noise exposure in longwall working faces. |
Keywords |
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Source Agency |
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Corporate Authors |
West Virginia Univ., Morgantown. Dept. of Mining Engineering.; National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington, DC. |
Supplemental Notes |
Sponsored by National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington, DC. |
Document Type |
Technical Report |
NTIS Issue Number |
201115 |