Emissions and human health impact of particulate matter from surface mining operation—A review

• Strong medical evidences of PM emitted from surface mine on health exist.
• Particle size, especially the ultrafine particles (<1 μm), analysis are limited.
• Empirical equations are inadequate for PM emission estimates from surface mine.
• Studies on particle size analysis and PM inhalation model are emphasized.
• Need of in-pit wind field modeling and vertical transport of PM is emphasized.

Particulate matter (PM) is one of the primary pollutants produced from surface mining operations. Health related studies indicate a strong association of airborne PM with adverse impacts such as restricted airways, reduced lung capacity, reduced lung function, increased cardiovascular disease, pneumoconiosis, cancer, and neurotoxic effects. A review of the existing studies to estimate the emission of PM from surface mining indicates empirical relationships among a wide range of parameters including silt content and moisture content of the PM, vehicle speed, drop height, weight of the vehicle, size of loader, area of the exposed surface, frequency of loading and unloading, number of dry days. Mitigation strategies are needed to determine the PM exposure level to human health inside opencast mines where production based operations take place. Synthesis of available studies suggests that while the empirical relationships explain the emission estimates, there is yet no established theoretical basis to explain the movement of fine particles inside the mine. A few recent studies on modeling PM concentration profile across the benches are reviewed. It is felt that there is a need of detailed studies for assessment of fate of the PM from mining operations for better understanding of its health impact on miners and people around the mining sites and to improve the local air quality. To this effect, need of studies focusing on wind field modeling and vertical transport of PM in surface mines is emphasized. Particle size analysis and PM inhalation model can help in better understanding the health impact of PM emitted from different surface mining activities.