Dust suppression
An economic perspective of dust suppression technology GLOBAL ROAD TECHNOLOGY HAS PRODUCED WHAT IT CALLS THE MOST COST-EFFICIENT DUST SUPPRESSION PRODUCT FOR MINE HAUL ROADS. SAFE TO WORK TAKES A LOOK AT THE TECHNOLOGY – THE GRT: HAUL-LOC.
GRT is an Australian company that takes pride in its team of civil and geotechnical engineers.
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ustralia is becoming well known for its increasingly stringent regulations over workplace exposure to dust. As a country with an economy that relies heavily on the mining and resources industry, workers who depend on the sector for their livelihood need to be shielded from the irreversible implications of dust exposure. Coal dust or silica aren’t the only respirable dangers that pose risks to the health of workers – other non-toxic dusts must also be considered. Unlike ingesting food into the digestive system, there is physically no way out for respirable dust that has entered human lungs. Dust also lowers visibility on mine
site haul roads and creates the potential for vehicle collisions or rollovers. A lack of dust control also causes premature wear and tear on fixed and mobile plants, increasing the risk of safety incidents. When put into perspective, the economic impact on operations and workforce health and safety is significant. “If you’re suspending a mine operation for a day due to an incident, that will pay for just any dust suppression system for a year due to the sheer scale of volume that gets lost in production,” Global Road Technology (GRT) general manager Daniel Grundy tells Safe to Work. Dust suppression is a commercial
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challenge at any mine site, competing with the many economic battles that mining companies face, such as the coronavirus pandemic and low commodity prices. GRT refuses to be a silver bullet company by claiming the universality of a single product over different applications. Instead, the company takes a holistic approach to dust suppression on mine sites. The GRT: Activate technology, for example, is a dust control solution for underground mining and ore processing. The GRT: Wet-Loc product is applicable to logistics areas and other places with heavy traffic, with its effect lasting for up to 12 months. “We’ve seen mines that were
