Due to the size of iron ore when it is mined, the rock needs to be crushed and screened to the desired size. During the crushing and screening process, a large amount of dust is expelled which settles all around the working area.
Often downtime is needed for cleaning and maintenance to occur due to the excessive dust build-up.
Inhalation of this dust by the workers can cause health issues, especially from the silica and the ore found in the dust. Inhaling this dust can cause different types of lung cancer which is one of the major occupational diseases found in the workers. Other health issues that can arise in workers include fibrotic diseases such as pneumoconiosis and silicosis, as well as airflow diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema.
The health issues that occur due to the inhalation of this type of dust vary due to its composition. Iron oxide and silica predominantly contribute to the dusts’ toxic properties. Silica is most likely the cause of the increase in incidence of lung cancer among iron order workers. It is recommended that these workers are examined periodically to determine early symptoms.
To avoid inhalation and the reduction of production time, the best solution is to install extraction hoods over open areas where the crushing and screening processes take place and the dust is created. The extraction hood will capture the dust, transport it through a ducting system and deposit it in a dust collector. This will limit the amount of hazardous dust in the air to avoid inhalation by the workers. The dust collector will then separate the dust into bulk bags, or it can be conveyed back into the system using screw conveyors, expelling clean, dust free air.
Envirox supplies the Nederman LCP cartridge dust collector which is ideal for this type of dust extraction. It is designed for continuous operation and general dust extraction applications with free-flowing dust. Every LCP unit includes large pre-separation chambers which can increase dust load capacity while reducing the load on the filter cartridges. It also includes on-line high efficiency pulse jet cleaning.
