Air Sampling Evaluates Hazards from Fume Inhalation and Asbestos

Read the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) report about the evaluation of hazards from inhaling fumes in mines. Miners are routinely exposed to carcinogens such as asbestos.

Mine operators should be able to recognize fume generation activities at the mining property, select ventilation measures suitable for fume control, determine the type of personal protection most effective for the contaminant involved, recognize symptoms of fume overexposure, and sample for exposures to fumes.

Special attention should be given to areas where ceilings are low, the welder works in cramped conditions, or ventilation is poor.

All personal samples should be taken in the miner's breathing zone. The breathing zone of a welder wearing a welding hood is considered to be under the hood. The cassette must be placed under the hood whenever possible.

Full-shift sampling should be done when miners will be welding or exposed to other fume sources for all or most of their work shift. Short-term samples should be taken along with any full-shift samples to determine if short-term or ceiling limits for any contaminants are exceeded.

If full-shift sampling is interrupted to take short-term samples, the contaminant amounts determined by analysis of the full-shift sample and each short-term sample must be added to determine the full-shift exposure for each contaminant.

Additional short-term samples should be taken when the welding rod, material being welded, or welding flux is varied during the shift.

The welding samples will, therefore, have to be monitored closely. Short-term samples should cover at least the maximum time period allowed by the short-term exposure limit that has been set for the specific contaminant(s) sampled.

Sampling performed in areas where molten metals may be generated by a furnace will have to address the known or suspected elements present. These operations are usually performed at a permanent site and on a more regular basis than welding.

Courtesy of MSHA

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