Design of a Miniaturized Wearable Respirable Dust Monitor (WEARDM) for Underground Coal Mines

Abstract

This paper presents the designs of an air-microfluidic miniaturized wearable respirable dust monitor (WEARDM) which is designed to monitor the exposure to ISO respirable mass fraction (PM4) of coal and silica dust in underground coal mines. The device is an order of magnitude smaller and less expensive than comparable devices, and uses the principles of air-microfluidics to gravimetrically and in real-time monitor the exposure to PM4 by the miners, and can be used to increase the safety of the mining operations worldwide.