Pulmonary Health and Disorders pp 1-10 | Cite as
Effects of Exposure to Carbon Dioxide in Potash Miners
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Abstract
Potash miners can become exposed to carbon dioxide (CO2) during the blasting of basalt intrusions or loading and transporting the blasted salt. In a cross-shift study, we compared physiological effects of acute exposure to elevated CO2 concentrations in miners after long-term exposure to evaluate the possible health risks. A group of 119 miners was assessed by clinical examination, lung function tests, and blood gas content directly before and after the shift. A cumulative CO2 exposure was measured using personal monitors. The miners were categorized as low (<0.1 vol.%, n = 83), medium (<0.5 vol.%, n = 26), and high (>0.5 vol.%, n = 10) CO2 exposed subjects. We found no significant differences among the three groups. Lung function testing revealed no conspicuous findings, and chronic health effects were not observed in the miners either. In conclusion, no significant adverse effects could be found in potash miners exposed to elevated CO2 concentrations. Therefore, the mining authorities allow potash mining operations for 4 h at ambient CO2 up to 1.0 vol.% and for 2 h at CO2 not exceeding 1.5 vol.% per shift.
Keywords
Air monitoring Blood pH Carbon dioxide Lung function pCO2 Potash minersNotes
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to our volunteers for their participation. The authors thank Hans Berresheim, Anja Deckert, Sven Koszma, Thomas Lüttke, Anja Molkenthin, Roswitha Nioduschewski, Nina Rosenkranz, Jan Schramm and Patrick Schulze for their excellent technical assistance.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest in relation to this article.
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