A review of dust emission dispersions in rock aggregate and natural stone quarries

Abstract

Fugitive dust constitutes one of the most severe environmental problems in quarries because it escapes capture. This review aims to provide overview of dust concentration caused by quarrying by synthesising the current knowledge. The 25 studies explored here were conducted in open-pit quarries or mines. Three main dust sources surfaced from the studies: drilling, crushing and hauling. Analysis revealed a range of dust concentrations caused by different quarrying operations. Crushing was the most significant dust source, while drilling caused the highest variation. Dust concentration decrease was observed with increasing distance, but the retention was incoherent due to local dust sources.

Keywords:

• Dust
• drilling
• crushing
• hauling
• open-pit quarry

Acknowledgements

K.H. Renlund foundation is, with gratitude, acknowledged for financial support. FCG Finnish Consulting Group Oy acknowledged for allowing the usage of the working equipment and space. Doctor of Science (Tech), Lecturer of English Pia Lappalainen from Aalto University is thanked for the language check.