Thermogravimetric analysis of respirable coal mine dust for simple source apportionment.

Resurgence of coal mine dust lung diseases in the central Appalachian region of the United States and elsewhere has spurred a range of efforts to better understand respirable coal mine dust (RCMD) exposures and sources. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of RCMD samples can enable the dust mass to be fractionated into three main components: coal, non-carbonate minerals, and carbonates. These are expected to approximate, respectively, the three primary dust sources in many underground mines: the coal seam being mined, the surrounding rock strata (i.

A thermogravimetric analysis application to determine coal, carbonate, and non-carbonate minerals mass fractions in respirable mine dust.

Occupational lung diseases such as coal worker's pneumoconiosis, often called black lung, are caused by exposures to respirable coal mine dust. Dust composition is increasingly understood as an important disease factor, and it can vary significantly depending on dust source materials and generation processes. For regulatory compliance purposes, the mass concentration and quartz percentage of respirable dust are monitored in U.