ABSTRACT
CONTEXT.: Overexposure to respirable coal mine dust can cause severe lung disease including progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS) has been used for in situ lung dust particle analysis for evaluation of disease etiology. Automating such work can reduce time, costs, and user bias. OBJECTIVE.: To develop and test an automated FESEM-EDS method for in situ analysis of inorganic particles in coal miner lung tissue. DESIGN.: We programmed an automated FESEM-EDS procedure to collect particle size and elemental data, using lung tissue from 10 underground coal miners with PMF and 4 control cases. A statistical clustering approach was used to establish classification criteria based on particle chemistry. Data were correlated to PMF/non-PMF areas of the tissue, using corresponding brightfield microscopy images. Results for each miner case were compared with a separate corresponding analysis of particles recovered following tissue digestion. RESULTS.: In situ analysis of miner tissues showed higher particle number densities than controls and densities were generally higher in PMF than non-PMF areas. Particle counts were typically dominated by aluminum silicates with varying percentages of silica. Compared to digestion results for the miner tissues, in situ results indicated lower density of particles (number per tissue volume), larger size, and a lower ratio of silica to total silicates-probably due to frequent particle clustering in situ. CONCLUSIONS.: Automated FESEM-EDS analysis of lung dust is feasible in situ and could be applied to a larger set of mineral dust-exposed lung tissues to investigate specific histologic features of PMF and other dust-related occupational diseases.
Subject(s)
Coal Mining , Dust , Lung , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , Occupational Exposure , Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission , Humans , Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission/methods , Dust/analysis , Lung/pathology , Lung/chemistry , Occupational Exposure/analysis , Occupational Exposure/adverse effects , Male , Particle SizeABSTRACT
This dataset comprises an image library of 282 respirable silica particles. The particles were identified in samples of respirable coal mine dust (RCMD) collected in numerous US underground mines, and samples of lab-generated respirable dust that were created using the primary dust source materials (e.g., raw coal and rock) obtained from those mines. (A limited number of particles were also identified in samples generated from silica-containing reference materials.) Silica particle identification was done by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), and then each particle was imaged and analyzed at both low (5 kV) and high (20 kV) accelerating voltage. SEM micrographs were captured at high magnification (i.e., 5000-20,000 ×) and overlaid with elemental maps to visually indicate relative Si and Al content; spectra were also collected to determine Si and Al % in each particle. This dataset can inform the understanding of real respirable silica particles in coal mine environments, which may differ from idealized (i.e., pure, independent) silica particles. The dataset therefore provides valuable context for the design and interpretation of research related to: respirable silica exposure studies, sample analysis and monitoring techniques, or dust control.
ABSTRACT
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.e., typically dominated by non-carbonate minerals) being drilled or mined along with the coal, and the rock dust products (i.e., typically made from carbonate-rich limestone or dolostone) being applied in the mine to mitigate explosibility hazards. As proof of concept, TGA was applied to respirable dust samples that were laboratory-generated from real source materials representing 15 mines. Except in the case of two mines, compositional results were generally consistent with expectations. TGA was also applied to RCMD samples collected in standard locations of 23 mines (including the 15 mines represented by the dust source materials). Results showed significantly different compositions with respect to sampling location and geographic region (i.e., within and outside of central Appalachia). To further interpret the RCMD results, a simple source apportionment model was built using the dust compositions yielded from the source materials analysis. Model results indicated that, on average, about twice as much dust was sourced from mining into rock strata than from mining the target coal seam. This finding is particularly important for mines extracting relatively large amounts of rock along with the coal or for mines that frequently encounter high-silica rock strata.
Subject(s)
Coal Mining , Occupational Exposure , Coal/analysis , Dust/analysis , Minerals/analysis , Occupational Exposure/analysis , United StatesABSTRACT
A total of 171 sets respirable dust samples were collected from 25 underground coal mines in several regions of the United States. One sample from each set was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) to determine particle size and mineralogy distributions. Results from the first eight mines were presented in the original dataset (Sarver et al., 2019). Here, the dataset is updated to include results from all 25 mines and to further subclassify particle mineralogy using improved SEM-EDX routines. The current article presents particle mineralogy binned by size between about 100-10,000â¯nm on a per sample basis, and data is also available on a per particle basis. Discussion of the SEM-EDX data is included in a parallel research article "Particle size and mineralogy distributions in respirable dust samples from 25 US underground coal mines" (Sarver et al., 2021). Moreover, sequential digestions and analysis of the digestates by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) were used to estimate mass concentrations of potentially bioaccessible and total-acid soluble metals and trace elements in the respirable dust samples. Results are included here for a total of 76 samples representing 15 mines; results from first eight mines were presented in the original dataset (Sarver et al., 2019) and discussed in an earlier research article (Sarver et al., 2019).
ABSTRACT
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.S. coal mines, but the whole composition is not typically determined. Previous work has indicated that thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) can be used to apportion the respirable dust mass to three important component fractions (i.e., coal, non-carbonate minerals, and carbonate), which should generally correlate with three different dust sources (i.e., coal strata, rock strata, and limestone rock dusting products being applied in the mine). However, a primary shortcoming of that previous work was use of fibrous sampling filters, which limited dust recovery and thus analytical accuracy. Here, an improved TGA application is presented using smooth polycarbonate filters. Based on experiments with laboratory-generated dust samples (masses ranging between 95-1,319 µg), the TGA-derived mass fractions (reported as percentage values) for all three components were found to generally be within ±10% of expected values.
Subject(s)
Carbonates/analysis , Coal Mining , Coal/analysis , Dust/analysis , Occupational Exposure/analysis , Thermogravimetry/methods , Inhalation Exposure/statistics & numerical data , Quartz/analysisABSTRACT
Respirable dust samples were collected in several key locations of eight underground coal mines in central and northern Appalachia. In total, there were 76 unique sampling events (i.e., specific location in a specific mine). Here, we present data from each event describing particle size and mineralogy class distributions across the â¼100-10,000nm size range, which were determined using SEM-EDX; and estimated mass concentrations of potentially bioaccessible and total acid-soluble metals and trace elements, which were determined using sequential digestions with digestate analysis by ICP-MS. Discussion of this dataset is included in a companion research article "Beyond conventional metrics: Comprehensive characterization of respirable coal mine dust" Sarver et al., 2019.