The Coal Dust Explosibility Meter
| The mining process creates coal dust which is explosive if not properly controlled. Since 2000, 64 fatalities and 18 injuries have resulted from numerous coal dust explosions. These catastrophic events can happen when methane ignitions lift and then ignite the coal dust present in the mines. The application of inert, pulverized rock dust to the mine roof, walls, and floor is one of the main means for maintaining an incombustible dust mixture necessary to prevent explosions. The current method used to determine whether enough rock dust has been applied requires sending a collected sample to a laboratory and then waiting days or weeks until results are received. The NIOSH-developed Coal Dust Explosibility Meter (CDEM) provides coal mines with a tool to immediately determine if more rock dust should be applied to maintain safe levels. The CDEM also considers dust particle sizes in its measurements. The finer the coal dust, the more explosible it is. The CDEM is a major improvement over the current method in that the current laboratory method cannot distinguish dust particle size and thus does not measure explosion potential. The CDEM evaluates particle size and indicates if more rock dust is needed to inert the finer-sized coal dust particles. Due to the commercialization and help of NIOSH, to date, over 200 meters have been purchased by the coal mining industry. |
The Coal Dust Explosibility Meter
The Coal Dust Explosibility Meter (CDEM) employs technology that is different from current tools and methods and provides instant feedback to assess the relative hazard of explosible dust accumulations in underground coal mines and the efficiency of a mine’s rock dusting practices. The CDEM provides mine operators with the information needed to take immediate action when potentially hazardous conditions are present. More details ...
NIH RePORT: Public Access to Research
Explore health-related research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and read how your tax dollars are supporting cutting-edge research to improve the health of our nation by using NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT). Read scientific advances from NIH labs and hundreds of institutions across the country supported by NIH funding, search the portfolio of funded projects, and link out to the latest news in biomedical research. More details ...
Online Food Handler Training Project
How do you train over 3,500 people each year in food sanitation when contending with a twenty percent reduction in staff? The Albuquerque Area Indian Health Service, Division of Environmental Health Services’ solution to this problem is an online training designed to be efficient and culturally-relevant, involving multiple Federal and Tribal partners. Due to in-kind services, less than $200 was spent on the project. More details...
NIAID FreeStuff: Stretching Tax Dollars
Why spend taxpayer money on a new microscope or chair if someone at the same government agency has that item and no longer needs it? NIAID FreeStuff provides an online forum where staff at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) can post and search for surplus equipment and supplies. This exchange increases the useful life of existing government property and reduces waste that can hurt the environment. More details...
The 100K Genome Project: Tracking foodborne illness to its source
The “100K Genome Project” is creating an open-source database of 100,000 foodborne pathogen genomes through an innovative partnership among government, business and academia. This important contribution to public health is cost-effective and represents a sustainable effort that could only have been achieved through the combining of resources from multiple stakeholders, ultimately resulting in a critical tool for preventing and responding to outbreaks of foodborne disease. More details ...
NHSC Online Jobs Center
Underserved communities need primary care providers – doctors, nurses, dentists, mental health providers. The National Health Service Corps Jobs Center connects clinicians to health care sites that need them most; increasing access to high quality health care for millions of Americans. More details ...
