Introduction
Dilip M. Parikh in Handbook of Pharmaceutical Granulation Technology, 2021
Dry compaction technique like roller compaction is experiencing a renewed interest in the industry. The roller compaction processes and equipment were adapted and modified from other industries like metal, mineral, and recycling industries. In the early 19th century, the process was utilized in the mining industry to crush rocks for easy extraction of desired precious material. In the mid-20th century, the process was used to compress pharmaceutical powders. Several drug substances are moisture sensitive. The roller compaction process provides suitable alternative technology for granulating these products. It offers advantages compared with wet granulation for processing physically or chemically moisture-sensitive materials since a liquid binder and thus drying of granulation is not required. This technology can also be used to produce effervescent granulations. The current offering of this technology is equipped with process analytical tools (PATs) that provide process monitoring and help in scale-up and optimization.
Geochemical Maps as a Basis for Geomedical Investigations
Jul Låg in Geomedicine, 2017
Nearly 50,000 samples of stream sediment were collected within the 125,000 km2 survey region. The samples were dried and sieved to a grain size of minus 0.20 mm and analyzed for the total contents of Al, Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, K, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sc, Sn, Sr, and V by direct-reading optical spectrography using DC-arc excitation. The contents of As and Mo were determined colorimetrically after fusion with KHSO4. Hot nitric-acid soluble Cd and Zn were determined by atomic abosrbtion spectrometry. If more than one sample fell within a unit pixel (3 km2), the geometric mean of the analytical results of that pixel was computed. For each element the arithmetic mean of (1) the raw data of the content and (2) the computed geometric means were calculated for 3 × 3 pixel cells and plotted as color maps. Figure 1 is a reproduction of the Sn map, which was chosen because it is easy to reproduce in black-and-white and shows a simple, but distinct distribution pattern. Cornwall in southeastern England stands out as a pronounced Sn province. The atlas102 shows that several other elements occur in high concentrations within this Sn province. Seven hundred years of mining activities have taken place in the region, and it is unclear to which extent these patterns are natural or the results of pollution. In any case, human and animal populations of Cornwall are exposed to more environmental Sn and some other elements than populations from other regions elsewhere in England and Wales. An atlas of cancer motality in Great Britain38 is available for geomedical comparison.
A case for change
Sidney Dekker in The Safety Anarchist, 2017
Still, the enthusiasm to regulate the worker has kept up. Ever more detailed and extensive workplace safety rules have permeated into the existence of practitioners, operators, workers and others (Mendelhoff, 1981). Take Australia as an example. It is an island nation (or continent, really), with a strong export-based economy that did not suffer a recession in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the nation’s GDP (gross domestic product: equal to the total expenditures for all final goods and services produced within the country over a year) has hovered around 1.5 trillion US dollars. That’s an economic output of some US$1,500 billion per year, or $1,500,000,000,000. It does this with a population of 24 million people, of whom 12 million work. Its 2014 unemployment rate was 5.7%. Mining accounts for about 7% of the economy, as does manufacturing. Construction sits around 9%. Services contribute to 58% of the GDP.
Analysis of human and organizational factors that influence mining accidents based on Bayesian network
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2020
Mostafa Mirzaei Aliabadi, Hamed Aghaei, Omid Kalatpour, Ali Reza Soltanian, Asghar Nikravesh
The mining industry is one of the most important economic activities where many minerals are obtained by surface and underground methods. Despite remarkable progress over the past decade regarding mining safety, studies have demonstrated that miners are working in a relatively high-risk environment compared to other workplace employees [1]. In some countries, the rate of deadly accidents among miners is about 7–10 times more than the average workforce [2]. This increase may be attributed to unfavorable conditions in mining workplaces. The risk of mine collapse, explosion and choking risks has made mines a dangerous workplace for miners [3]. However, many incidents could not be attributed exclusively to inappropriate working conditions. A study in the USA showed that approximately 85% of all mine accidents occur due to human error [4]. Identifying factors that influence human error can be useful in safety management for adopting appropriate control strategies to reduce accidents in the mining industry.
Occurrence, distribution, and environmental risk assessment of heavy metals in the vicinity of Fe-ore mines: a global overview
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2022
Prafulla Kumar Sahoo, Mike A. Powell, Gabriel Caixeta Martins, Roberto Dall'Agnol, Gabriel Negreiros Salomão, Sunil Mittal, Paulo Rógenes Monteiro Pontes, José Tasso Felix Guimarães, Jose Oswaldo de Siqueira
Mining is a key factor leading to socio-economic and infrastructure development like transport, aerospace, construction, packaging, energy, electronics, medical technology, etc. The impact of mining has been an issue of serious environmental concern; mainly heavy metal (HM) contamination, in many parts of the world (Li et al.2014, Sahoo et al.2016, Hosseini et al.2018). Heavy metals, and some associated metalloids, are defined differently based on the context and the field in which the term is being used and applied; geologists, physicists, toxicologists, medical practitioners, chemists, and others, all have their own criteria (Fernández-Luqueño et al.2013). The main threats to human health from HM exposure covered in this study are associated with Cd, Pb, Hg, Ni, Cr, and As (Li et al.2014, Hosseini et al.2018). Heavy metal toxicity may cause various acute or chronic diseases such as cancers, damage to DNA, lung function failure and many more (Kabata-Pendias and Mukherjee 2007, Fernández-Luqueño et al.2013).
Estimating the injury rates and causes of fatalities in the Japanese mining industry, 1924–2014
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2022
The types of minerals extracted also influenced the degree of exposure to accidents. In the Japanese mining industry, there are four types of mines that extract minerals – metal, coal, petroleum and non-metal. The mean rates of seriously injured workers in underground mines accounted for 246.2/1000 workers in metal industries, 553.34/1000 in coal industries, 0 in petroleum industries and 139.70/1000 in non-metal industries. The coal industry had the highest number of accidents because this industry employed many more workers than other mine types. The mean rates of seriously injured workers in surface mines were 21.28/1000 in metal mines, 24.41/1000 in coal mines, 17.1/1000 in petroleum mines and 26.80/1000 in non-metal mines. In surface mines, workers in the petroleum industry were exposed to risk because the exploitation facilities are mainly on the surface, which accounts for the absence of underground accidents. The non-metal mines experienced the largest number of surface accidents. The accident rates remained consistent throughout the period under analysis, but legislation aimed at improving the safety of workers in mines was effective.
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