Pilbara Health

Dust is a normal feature of all mine sites, but an innovative and rigorous scientific study is underway to determine what types of dust exist on each site and what the potential effects are for Pilbara Iron employees and contractors.

Personal dust monitoring is a legislative requirement for all mining operations in Australia. But the Pilbara Iron project has gone beyond regulations, using monitoring equipment strategically located around the business to build a comprehensive data set that offers a true understanding of dust levels at each location.

Alice has been charged with the task of assisting sites to develop solutions at potential dust “hot spots”.

“It has been a real team effort. Being able to work together to develop solutions to a very complex issue has been a highlight for me,” she said.

“Dust is not the most exciting of topics but this study has shown that we have to be more mindful of our surroundings everyday to protect our health and well being.”

Alice delivers dust awareness presentations on all sites. The presentations provide results from the study and discuss the health impacts associated with various types of dust together with an update on current and future dust controls.

Two key tips from the presentation are:

1. Try to limit working in dusty areas at night – believe it or not, dust is at its highest levels on cold, still nights.
2. If working in very dusty areas is unavoidable, try to schedule work for only short periods in these conditions before moving to another work location.

Remember, if you see ghost eyes in the mirror after a day on site, imagine what your lungs would look like if you don't remember to wear dust protection equipment.