Health Effects of Coal Dust in a Non-Occupational Context : Literature Review Introduction

Whenever coal is stockpiled and, particularly, when it is transported, dumped or otherwise handled, there is the potential for release of small particles (i.e. dust) of coal in significant quantities. The range of sizes of these particles is considerable; visible coal dust (i.e. as a black cloud) is one extreme of the possible range of particle dimensions but within any such dust cloud there will be a proportion of particles which have dimensions of 20 μm or less; this is generally referred to as Total Suspended Particulate (TSP). Further, within the TSP fraction of total airborne dust, there will be a proportion of particles which are of respirable size. While there is no precise cut-off point which delineates whether a particle is respirable or not (particle shape and associated aerodynamic factors are also relevant) the dimensional arbiter of particle respirability is taken to be 10 μm or less (the so-called PM10 fraction).