Mining Publication: Here Comes The Helmet-CAM: A Recent Advance In Technology Can Improve How Mine Operators Investigate and Assess Respirable Dust.

• Exposure tracking
• Personal monitoring
• Respirable dust

This article describes the latest advancements in technology to improve how mine operators can investigate and assess the respirabledust exposure of their workers. Recently, Unimin Corp. and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed the HelmetCAM technology, a dust exposure assessment tool designed specifically for the mining industry. This assessment technique is performed by having a miner wear a small video recorder on his or her hard hat along with a real-time aerosol monitor that is housed in a backpack, on a safety belt, or safety vest and records the individual's respirable dust exposure at two-second intervals. After a miner performs his or her job while wearing the unit, the video and dust exposure data files are downloaded to a computer and then merged together using a NIOSH-developed computer software program called EVADE (Enhanced Video Analysis of Dust Exposure).