Monthly Archives: June 2020

Fighting Dust Allergies

Here is a great article from Clayton & Clayton regarding fighting dust allergies at home.  Please follow the link provided to read the full article.

Clayton & Clayton – https://www.claytonandclayton.com/home-dusting-guide.php

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Fighting Dust Allergies: Common Methods to Clean and Prevent Dust Accumulation at Home

“Did you know allergy symptoms can actually worsen after cleaning, vacuuming, and dusting? It seems like dusting and vacuuming should improve your allergy problem, but often these activities can exacerbate the issue. In other words, the time you’re spending trying to make your allergies better can actually make them worse. The cleaning process causes dust particles to surface, making them easier to inhale.

Dust can be found in all locations of the home. Keeping the dust build-up to a minimum, especially if you’re affected by allergies, can improve your overall quality of life. There are many ways dust can be controlled. Decluttering, changing air filters, improving pet care practices and changing pillows are all examples of ways you can control dust in your home.

Overall, you may find controlling dust requires a change in lifestyle and behaviors at home. By changing the way you clean, the type of bedding you use, the way you interact with your pets and other lifestyle factors, you can reduce the amount of dust in your home.

This article will discuss the most effective methods for eliminating dust. You’ll also learn where you can find the most dust in your home and how to reduce your dust allergies.

Dust Allergies
A dust allergy is an allergic reaction to dust or dust mites found in the home. Dust mites are a type of insect that live in the household and eat dust. People who are allergic to dust are often allergic to these insects. Dust and dust mites can be found nearly everywhere in the home, including bedding, upholstery and carpeting. People who are allergic to dust and mites can control their symptoms by reducing the amount of dust in their home. Some people also take medication for this allergy.

Symptoms of Dust Allergies
If you suffer from a dust allergy, you may experience a variety of negative symptoms such as:

Asthma
Runny nose
Itchy eyes
Tightness in the chest
Wheezing and coughing
Postnasal drip
Blue-colored skin under the eyes
Difficulty breathing
Although dust allergies are not usually a serious condition, it can be if the affected person has a severe enough reaction. Conditions like asthma can be deadly for someone who goes untreated, or who does not have the tools to enable breathing when an attack occurs. Work with your doctor to ensure your dust mite allergy condition is properly treated.

Triggers
Allergy triggers can cause your allergies to become suddenly pronounced. Triggers can take many forms, depending on your particular allergy and how severe your allergy is.

Dust Mites
Dust mites are the most common reason people are allergic to dust. Mites thrive in conditions with temperatures over 70 degrees and in high humidity. You can find dust mites everywhere. They float in the air, live in upholstery and carpeting, can be found in curtains and bedding, and can even live in mattresses.

Mites are not visible to the naked eye. Even if a house looks clean, it could be infested with dust mites.

Pollen
While pollen originates outside, it can still enter the home through windows, screens, doors, and even on the bodies of people and animals who have spent time outside. Pollen is scattered through the air by plants. Different types of plants have different types of pollen. The type of pollen found in and around your home will depend on the types of plants found in your environment.

Most people are only allergic to certain types of pollen. If plants you’re allergic to live in your area, you’re likely to experience problems. If the plants that trigger your allergies are not in your town or neighborhood, you may not experience allergy symptoms until you go someplace where the particular pollen can be found.

Feathers, Animal Hair and Other Animal Particles
Animal hair and feathers are another common source of dust in the home. Pets shed their hair, dander (skin particles), saliva and urine throughout the house. When combined with dust, pet hair can create a variety of allergy problems. Feathers are similarly problematic for people who are allergic to birds. Typically, only one type of animal or bird will trigger allergies for the affected person.

Cockroaches
Cockroaches drop tiny particles (including feces) into the environment, which can cause an allergic reaction. Cockroaches can be found in any environment, but are most commonly found in urban areas. Presence of cockroaches in the home can negatively impact indoor air quality, especially in the areas of the home where the roaches spend time.

Mold
Mold produces fungus spores, which are then released into the air. Mold can be found in homes, especially in places like the bathroom or bedroom, and can be toxic. Homes with a lot of mold, or a lot of one kind of triggering mold, can cause problems for people with mold allergies. All homes have mold, but the homes with the biggest problems are those with humidity and moisture issues. Plumbing leaks, roof leaks and lack of air flow can all contribute to mold development in the home.”

(To read more, follow the link above)

Fighting Dust Allergies

Dust Monitoring Equipment – providing equipment, services and training in dust fallout management to the mining industry.

Open Pit Mining Pros and Cons

I trust you will find this article informative and useful.  Have a wonderful day!

Follow the link to read the article at it’s source.

Regards

Chris

Open Pit Mining Pros and Cons

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Open Pit Mining Pros & Cons

https://sciencing.com/open-pit-mining-pros-cons-12083240.html

Updated June 25, 2018
By Max Roman Dilthey

“Open pit mining — or strip mining — is an extraction process for ore or fossil fuels that takes place at the surface of a mining site. Worldwide, 40 percent of mining occurs at the surface, according to Greenpeace International. Compared with underground mining, surface mining is much more efficient. Unfortunately, this economy comes with a strict environmental cost because the surface environment is destroyed and polluted during the mining process.

Efficient Operations
One of the major benefits to open pit mining is the increase in efficiency over deep-shaft mining techniques. Because mining occurs at the surface, no space restrictions from narrow tunnels and shafts affect the rate at which ore can be extracted. Sampling each “bench” — or level — in an open pit before mining deeper makes it easy for surveyors to analyze the potential ore yield and avoid safety hazards. Open pit mining also uses larger extraction vehicles, increasing the amount of ore harvested per day. All of these improvements to efficiency work to reduce the cost of mining using an open pit.

Greater Safety
Open-pit mining is much safer than shaft mining. In underground mining, the threat of a cave-in or release of toxic gas is a constant concern. When shaft mining was the most common method of ore extraction, thousands died in cave-ins, gas events and accidents involving equipment. In 1907 alone, more than 3,200 deaths related to mining occurred. Today, with safer mining processes, such as open-pit mining, safer equipment and a general increase in safety awareness, mining deaths have fallen considerably. For example, 15 coal mine related deaths were recorded in 2017 in the United States.

Loss of Ecosystem
An open pit mining operation virtually eliminates any biologic life at the surface. Vegetation is stripped, and the surface at the dig site is left completely barren. Without replanting and restoring the ecosystem, a strip mining site can take decades to recover. Abandoned mining pits can also pose extreme risks. The slope of the mining walls can be steep or even vertical, and the structural stability of access points is constantly changing as erosion occurs. Without vegetation to stabilize the surface, landslides and rockslides can occur without warning.

Pollution and Drainage
AMD, or acid mine drainage, is a serious environmental concern associated with strip mining. AMD occurs when sulfide-rich rocks that contain ore are broken down from exposure to water and air at the surface. The sulfides form sulfuric acid, which dissolves nearby rock and releases dangerous metalloids into local streams and groundwater. This polluted water can kill life along water sources for miles. The Questa molybdenum mine in New Mexico, for example, is the root cause for more than eight miles of damage to the Red River.”

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Dust Monitoring Equipment – providing equipment, services and training in dust fallout management to the mining industry.

Types of Pollution From Gold Mining

Hello everyone!  I hope you enjoy today’s article.

The link to the original article is below.

Types of Pollution Generated by Gold Mining – https://sciencing.com/types-pollution-generated-gold-mining-22598.html

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Types of Pollution Generated by Gold Mining

Updated April 25, 2017
By Milton Kazmeyer

“The high value of gold has made it a prime target of massive industrial mining operations designed to extract the mineral in the most efficient way possible. Heavy machinery, strip mining and acid extraction techniques give miners access to the valuable metal, but they can have significant side-effects. The gold mining and extraction industry creates a wide variety of pollution types, and if not regulated it can devastate any region that’s home to veins of the sought-after ore.

Air Pollution
Gold mines are usually large-scale operations, with heavy machinery and large vehicles required to dig and transport ore from place to place. These large vehicles produce emissions and greenhouse gases just like any other combustion engine-powered vehicle will, but usually on a larger scale and with much lower fuel efficiency. In addition, the earth-moving equipment that digs mine shafts or strips away topsoil can produce substantial amounts of dust and airborne particles that can further reduce the air quality around the mining operation. Airborne pollution from gold mining frequently contains heavy metals such as mercury, and as such is a potential health hazard for anyone exposed to it.

Soil Pollution
The soil pollution created by mining operations is another threat to wildlife and human health. Frequently, valuable ores run through rocks containing sulfides, and exposing this rock creates sulfuric acid. Washing these toxic byproducts away results in a semi-solid slurry called “tailings” that can contaminate the soil it comes in contact with. The acid leaching out of tailings can poison groundwater, and the toxic substances and heavy metals present in the leftover material can invade the topsoil and remain dangerous for years.

Water Pollution
Gold mining also has the potential to contaminate any nearby water supplies. Acid washed out of mines frequently finds its way into the water table, altering the pH of nearby streams and rivers and threatening the survival of wildlife. If a tailings reservoir bursts, it can result in a toxic mudslide that can block the flow of waterways and wipe out any living thing it encounters. In addition, some small-scale mining operations practice illegal dumping of their toxic byproducts. One such case is the Minahasa Reya mine in Indonesia. In 2003, the corporation that ran the mine dumped 4 million tons of toxic tailings into Buyat Bay, enough to leave detectible residues in fish caught in the bay and cause swimmers and fishermen to suffer skin rashes.

Refining
Extracting the ore is not the only source of pollution in gold mining. Refining raw ore to remove impurities and concentrate the gold content usually involves caustic chemicals. One method involves dissolving the gold with a concentrated cyanide solution, allowing the resulting liquid to run away from the remaining ore and collecting it for reconstitution. The concentrations of cyanide used in this process are extremely dangerous, and if spilled into the environment, pose a significant threat to wildlife and human health.”

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Dust Monitoring Equipment – providing equipment, services and training in dust fallout management to the mining industry.

Types of Pollution From Gold Mining

DIY – Measuring Airborne Particulates

Have a look at this tool developed by German scientist to measure airborne particulates. DustWatch is able to manufacture these and supply them on request.

Please follow the link to read the full article – https://ensia.com/features/dyi-pollution-sensors/

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“DON’T LIKE HOW YOUR GOVERNMENT TRACKS AIR POLLUTION? DO IT YOURSELF.
Concerned about what they saw as deficiencies in official monitoring, German citizen scientists developed a tool for measuring airborne particulates that anyone can build.

WRITER
Prathap Nair
@thesunlitwindow

June 29, 2017 — On a warm May evening in the southern German town of Stuttgart, citizen scientists gather in the basement of the city library with laptops on their desks and sparkling water by their sides. Known as “OK Lab Stuttgart,” this group meets regularly with an aim “to create useful applications for citizens using open data,” according to the website of the project’s umbrella organization Code for Germany.

This night’s discussion revolves around sensors that are helping citizens in Stuttgart and elsewhere around the world to measure air quality in their neighborhoods.

Homegrown Data

Two years ago, in one such meeting, Jan Lutz, a Stuttgart-based social entrepreneur, suggested pursuing a project that would allow citizens of his city to build easy-to-assemble sensors to measure air quality. Stuttgart has a reputation as the bad-air capital of Germany. Last year alone, particulate matter levels in the city crossed the official limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of PM10 — particles 10 micrometers and smaller — for 63 days, well above the European-Union-permitted 35 days.

Exposure to PM10 particles can cause or exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular problems such as coughing, decreased lung function, asthma, chronic bronchitis and even lung cancer. The city government issues air-pollution alerts on days when the pollution is above the permissible limit, advising citizens to leave their cars at home and use public transportation.

According to a 2014 WHO report, outdoor air pollution was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2012. The numbers are increasing each year as industrialization and vehicle emissions increase, threatening air quality in cities and rural areas alike.

Lutz’s project, called Luftdaten (German for “air data”), quickly took off because the citizen scientists thought government sensors were not sufficient for measuring air quality. The government-installed sensors in Stuttgart are placed at traffic intersections where there’s heavy traffic, and the air-quality data from these sensors represents at least the 200 square meters around the sensor. Lutz’s sensors are placed in many locations, from balconies of residential apartments to public parks, potentially providing more comprehensive data.

Inspired by the simplicity of building these sensors, the movement picked up momentum. There are now 251 of them active in and around Stuttgart.

DIY Sensors Around the World

Using do-it-yourself techniques explained in a user manual that’s also been translated into several languages, including English, by citizen scientists around the world, the air pollution sensors are connected to a wireless chip, a USB power supply source and a thermometer that measures humidity in the air, which is crucial for measuring particulate matter levels. These instruments are encased in standard PVC plumbing tubes and hung from balconies at homes and at various outdoor locations. After being connected to a home’s internet, the device transmits data to the Luftdaten website and to the Luftdaten Twitter handle, which posts alerts when the PM levels exceed 200 micrograms per cubic meter. The devices cost about €35 (US$39).”

DIY - Measuring Airborne Particulates

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Dust Monitoring Equipment – providing equipment, services and training in dust fallout management to the mining industry.