(1)The owner, agent or manager of every mine shall take such steps as are necessary for minimizing emissions of dust and for the suppression of dust which enters the air at any work place belowground or on surface and for ensuring that the exposure of workers to respirable dust is limited to an extent that is reasonably practicable but in any case not exceeding the limits that are harmful to the health of persons.(2)For the purposes of this regulation, a place shall not be deemed to be in a harmless state for person to work or pass or remain therein if the 8 hours time-weighted average concentration of airborne respirable dust in milligrams per cubic metre of air sampled by dust sampler of a type approved by and determined in accordance with the procedure as specified by the Chief Inspector by a general or special order, exceeds two, where working is being made wholly in seam or where free respirable silica present is less than 5 percent and the value is arrived at by dividing the figures of ten with the percentage of free respirable silica present in other cases; or(3)The owner, agent or manger of every mine shall, within three months of the coming into force of these regulations and once at least in every month thereafter or whenever the Regional Inspector so requires by an order in writing, cause the air at every work place where airborne dust is generated, to be sampled and the concentration of respirable dust therein determined:Provided that, such measurements shall also be made immediately upon the commissioning of any plant, equipment or machinery or upon the introduction of any new work practice or upon any alteration therein that is likely to bring about any substantial change in the level of airborne respirable dust.(4)The samples drawn under sub-regulation (3) shall as far as practicable, be representative of the levels of dust exposure of work-persons and for this purpose, the sampler shall be positioned on the return side of the point of dust generation and within I metre of the normal working position of but not behind the operator or other worker whose exposure is deemed to be maximum in his working group.(5)Based on the results of static or personal sampling, the representative dust exposure profiles for different categories of workers shall be estimated by portal to portal monitoring of selected workers whose exposure is deemed to be representative of their working groups.(6)Samples shall be taken by a person who has been specially trained for the purpose in the sampling equipment and accessories that have been checked to ensure correct maintenance and efficient operation thereof and examined, treated and calibrated on a date which is not earlier than one year:Provided that if the dust sampling is carried out by a laboratory other than belonging to the mine, such laboratory shall be approved in writing by the Chief Inspector in this behalf.(7)Respirable dust content of the samples and in case of samples collected from a working other than the working being made wholly in a coal seam, quartz content shall be determined at a laboratory approved in writing by the Chief Inspector in that behalf.(8)All result of measurements of airborne respirable dust and all other relevant particulars shall be systematically recorded within fourteen days of the date of collection of samples, in a bound paged book kept for the purpose and every entry in the book aforesaid shall be countersigned and dated by the manager within twenty four hours.(9)When the dust monitoring results have established that the permissible limit of dust concentrations are exceeded at any place, immediate steps shall be taken to minimize the emission of dust and to notify the Regional Inspector.(10)If the average concentration of respirable dust in a series of 5 samples taken in 7 successive normal working shifts during the subsequent month exceeds one and a half times the permissible limit, the relevant operation or operations causing excessive dust shall be stopped and the operation or operations shall not be resumed or allowed to be carried on until improvements have been made in the prevention and suppression of dust and fresh sampling carried out immediately on resumption of the said operation or operations has established that such improvements have reduced the dust concentration below the permissible limit:Provided that if the dust prevention and suppression device of any machinery or equipment fails to operate efficiently, the operation of the said machinery or equipment shall likewise be stopped and shall not be resumed until the defect therein has been rectified:Provided further that, purely as a contingency measure or as a secondary means of protection in a work situation wherein it is technically not feasible to reduce the respirable dust concentration below the permissible limit or during the time period necessary to install and commission any device or to institute any new, work practice for dust prevention or suppression, compliance with the permissible limit of dust may be achieved by remote operation or by job rotation and failing which by the Use of suitable dust respirator.(11)The owner, agent or manager of every mine where need of dust respirators might arise, shall provide dust respirators of approved type in sufficient number to the concerned workpersons for their use and the dust respirators shall be regularly cleaned, disinfected and maintained in efficient working order for the proper fitting of and for thorough training of the concerned workers in the need for correct use of respirators.(12)To prevent the liberation, accumulation or propagation of airborne dust, the following provisions shall have effect, namely:-(a)dust shall be suppressed as close as possible to its source of formation;(b)during any operation of drilling or boring on surface or belowground, -(i)the production of dust shall be reduced by using bits which are sharp and of proper shape, by keeping suitable pressure on the bits and by keeping the holes clear of the cuttings;(ii)except in naturally wet ground, a jet water shall be directed on to the cutting edge to wet the cuttings or other equally efficient device approved by the Chief Inspector which shall be provided and kept in operation throughout the drilling or boring operation to prevent the atmosphere being charged with dust;(iii)where pneumatic drilling is performed, water shall be turned on before turning on compressed air to the drill;(iv)when drilling is done by hand, it shall be sufficient if holes are kept constantly moist during such drilling:(c)every roadway on surface or belowground, where mobile mining machinery ply, shall be kept regularly wet or Shall be effectively treated with some other equally efficient dust suppressant agent approved by the Chief Inspector to reduce dust being raised in the atmosphere to a minimum;(d)no plant for the screening or sorting of coal and as far as practicable, no heap of cinder, cement, sand, mortar or other dry and fine material Shall be placed within 80 metre of the top of any down cast shaft or other intake airway nor shall any such material be so handled as to make it air-borne and drawn into such shaft or airway;(e)in every working belowground,-(i)no machinery or equipment which is likely to emit dust in excess of permissible limit shall be operated unless it is equipped with a suitable dust-prevention and suppression device which shall be properly interlocked with the operating lever or switch and unless such device is operating efficiently;(ii)the design, arrangement, material and condition of picks on every mechanical coal cutter Shall be such as to reduce the formation of dust to the minimum and no mechanical coal cutter Shall be operated unless suitable water sprays or jets of water are directed on the cutting edges thereof so as to damp the cuttings as they are formed;(iii)every working face and the floor, roof and sides of every roadway or airway within 50 metres thereof shall be, unless naturally wet throughout, regularly washed down to prevent accumulation of dust and shall be kept thoroughly wet during the work shifts;(iv)a current of air sufficient to clear away the dust emitted by any machinery or operation and to dilute the dust concentration below the permissible limit, shall be maintained by means of general ventilation and if necessary, by local ventilation, so however that, as far as practicable, the velocity of air in any roadway or workplace shall not be such as to raise dust in the atmosphere;(v)after blasting, no person shall enter working places unless sufficient time has elapsed for dust, smoke and fumes to be cleared by a current of air and the broken material shall not be moved unless it has been thoroughly made wet with water:(vi)vehicles, tubs and conveyors used for transport of coal shall be maintained in good condition so as to minimise spillage or leakage and chutes, spiral conveyors, bins, tipplers conveyor, discharge points and skip loading and unloading installations shall be so controlled as to reduce the formation of dust to the minimum and be kept thoroughly wet with water unless it is already wet or other effective means of dust suppression are used; and(vii)unless, owing to special difficulties, exempted in writing by Regional Inspector in that behalf and subject to such conditions as he might specify therein, water in pipes in sufficient quantity and under adequate pressure and independent of any pumping system, shall be provided ad maintained so as to get maximum efficiency in allaying of dust:(f)no process of crushing, breaking, disintegrating, opening, grinding, screening or sieving of coal or any operation incidental thereto, shalt be carried out at any mine unless efficient watering or other appropriate and effective dust control measures, such as, but not limited to isolation, enclosure, exhaust ventilation and dust collection are designed, provided, maintained and used;(g)the exhausted air, belowground, which contains dust in excess of the permissible limit shall be efficiently diluted and if necessary filtered so as to reduce the concentration of respirable dust therein below ten percent of the permissible limit before being re-circulated into working places;(h)every device used for the prevention and suppression of dust produced by any machinery, equipment or process as also for the filtering of the exhausted air and every dust respirator shall be inspected once at least in every seven days and shall be thoroughly examined and tested at least once in every month and reports of the results of every such inspection, examination and test shall be recorded in the register kept for the purpose:(13)The manager of every mine where airborne dust is generated shall formulate and implement a scheme specifying -(a)the location, frequency, timing, duration and pattern of sampling;(b)the instruments and accessories to be used for sampling;(c)the laboratory at which respirable dust content of samples and quartz content shall be determined;(d)the format in which the results of measurements of dust concentration and other particulars are to be recorded;(e)the organisation for dust monitoring and for the examination and maintenance of dust prevention and suppression measures and dust respirators; and(f)the manner of making all persons concerned with the implementation of the dust control measures fully conversant with the nature of work to be performed by each in that behalf.(14)The Regional Inspector may, where special conditions exist, permit to require by an order in writing and subject to such condition as he may specify therein, any variation in the foregoing provisions or in the scheme made under sub-regulation (13).(15)If any doubt arises as to any matter referred to in this regulation, the same shall be referred to the Chief Inspector for decision.
