Arsenic distribution and speciation in deposited coal mine dust.

This study investigates arsenic (As) species, sources, and transformation patterns in deposited coal mine dust (DCMD) from three coal mines-QSY, MHJ, and SCC-in the Ningdong Coalfield, China. While the parent coals have low As levels, the DCMD shows significant enrichment, with concentrations 137 to 345 times higher. The mineral composition of the DCMD reflects that of the parent coals but includes secondary minerals such as gypsum and various trace elements, including As.

Mineralogy, geochemistry and toxicity of size-segregated respirable deposited dust in underground coal mines.

We focus on a comparison of the geochemistry and mineralogy patterns found in coal, deposited dust (DD), respirable deposited dust (RDD) and inhalable suspended dust (PM10) from a number of underground mines located in China, with an emphasis on potential occupational health relevance. After obtaining the RDD from DD, a toxicological analysis (oxidative potential, OP) was carried out and compared with their geochemical patterns. The results demonstrate: i) a dependence of RDD/DD on the moisture content for high rank coals that does not exist for low rank coals; ii) RDD enrichment in a number of minerals and/or elements related to the parent coal, the wear on mining machinery, lime gunited walls and acid mine drainage; and iii) the geochemical patterns of RDD obtained from DD can be compared with PM10 with relatively good agreement, demonstrating that the characterization of DD and RDD can be used as a proxy to help evaluate the geochemical patterns of suspended PM10.