Coal Dust - Personal Hygiene Procedures

Those working in areas where coal dust can pose a serious threat to their health need to follow proper hygiene procedures.

Workers should wash with soap and water in case the coal dust contacts the skin. Clothing polluted with coal dust needs to be removed soon as possible, and provisions should be made for removal of the chemical from clothing in a safe manner.

People working with the laundry should be kept informed about the hazardous properties of coal dust. Any worker who handles coal dust should carefully wash hands, forearms, and face with soap and water before consuming food and drinks, smoking or using toilet facilities. Same goes for those who wish to apply cosmetics, or take any medication.

For health reasons, coal workers should be restrained from eating, drinking, smoking, applying cosmetics, or taking medication in areas where coal dust is handled, processed, or stored.

Employers should strive to prevent occupational injury and disease through pre-emptive measures. Coal dust containers should be stored away from oxidizing agents in areas where these will not be physically damaged. In case of a spill or a leak, workers who do not wear protective clothing should not be allowed to enter the contaminated area.

JNB Labs provides Fugitive dust control, and offers products and services best suited for this purpose. Coal Seal 140 is a proprietary crusting agent for Fugitive Dust Control.

Various Forms of Legionella

Legionella has caused several deaths in the past and is now a major concern for industries and health-care facilities that use boilers, cooling towers and hot water systems. It is best to get your water system checked on a regular basis to ensure you and your employees are safe from the dangerous and fatal bacterium.


Legionella requires the presence of oxygen to survive and grow. Growth can occur at mild temperatures of up to 45 Deg C (113 Deg F). This bacterium grows at a slower rate as compared to other fresh water bacteria. Legionella needs appropriate nutrients and minerals for growth. There are two forms of Legionnaires Disease; Pneumonia and Pontiac Fever. The pneumonia form of legionellosis is highly dangerous and can be contracted by inhaling water vapors containing legionella. The bacterium then infects the lung tissue. The incubation period can be anywhere from 2 to 10 days long. Of all the people exposed to the danger approx. 1-4% get ill. The mortality rate for patients that contract the disease is 15- 20%, which is very high

During summer and fall, legionella cases are on the rise. Symptoms such as a fever of 102 Deg F), headache, cough and upset stomach come on slowly and gradually. Older people are more at risk as compared to children; whereas, senior citizens are most affected due to low immunity.

Comparatively, Pontiac Fever is a mild, self-limiting form of legionellosis. It has an incubation period of only 36 hours. The attack rate for Pontiac Fever is higher at 95%, and most working adults are victimized by the dangerous bacterium, that is not as fatal as pneumonia form of legionellosis.

For Legionella Treatment, JNB Labs conducts legionella testing, on-site facilities. With many years of experience and know how these people can take care of your boilers, cooling towers, water ponds and more…

Industrial Water Treatment

Carbonate deposits are found in rocks, in water and even on Mars. These are harmful for various reasons and can be dangerous if not treated for human and industrial consumption. River water contains 46-48% bicarbonate ions. Water hardness refers to calcium carbonate molecules that form a lime scale deposit in water pipes, faucets, and reservoirs. Inside a boiler scale is formed due to this water hardness. These hardness salts have to be removed to prevent overheating and boiler explosion due to tube failure. Scale in boilers can also impact energy costs and reduce efficiency.

An effective way to get rid of water alkalinity is de-alkalization which reduces the hardness and the bicarbonate content of the water, thus reducing the salt content in the water by about 75%. De-alkalization removes hardness salts from water used in boilers.

A de-carbonator is used for removing carbons. It has an inlet and an out let. Water to be purified passes through the inlet of the forced draft de-carbonator, the forced draft de-carbonator provides an initial reduction in the level of carbon dioxide in the water while the vacuum de-gasifier provides a further reduction in carbon dioxide level as the water is processed.

Dissolved solids in the water can also be removed using chemicals, osmosis, reverse osmosis. The water treatment methods rely on your water utilization, and the best thing to do is look up a water purification specialist in the field.

Reverse Osmosis And How Does It Work

One of the greatest dilemmas in the U.S. is the chlorine contents present in the drinking water. If your tap water comes from a local water treatment facilities, if you pay water bill, then chlorine is your biggest problem. There are more then 2000 chemicals in our tap water. Any of them could be cause health complications. Several companies offer whole house reverse osmosis as a solution to the water problems.

RO or reverse osmosis is a process of purifying water or other liquids such as fruit juices by passing them through a semi permeable membrane that filters out unnecessary substances. In reverse osmosis, water, under high pressure is enforced through a membrane. The membrane entraps dirt, mud and debris. Many public facilities use reverse osmosis as one-step in their water treatments. In rural areas, where water comes from a river or even an ocean, whole house reverse osmosis can be used to make water suitable for kitchen use.

For most of us, our tap water is already "suitable" for kitchen use. It is just not that safe. One of the big problems is that water treatment services add chlorine to the water to protect the membrane in reverse osmosis systems from rot.

Chlorine is basically a disinfectant. It is really just bleach. It kills living organisms that can grow on a reverse osmosis membrane. So, logically, the membrane does not filter out the chlorine.
If your question is how does reverse osmosis work to filter chemicals out of the water, the answer is that it does not. The "holes" in the membrane are simply not small enough to trap chemicals, such as chlorine. So, if someone is trying to sell you a whole house reverse osmosis system and your water comes from a water treatment facility, do not buy it.

A whole house reverse osmosis system is a waste of money for most people. And, even for those who need one, it is a waste of water. For every one gallon of water that is filtered, about five gallons are wasted.

Another disadvantage to a whole house reverse osmosis system is that it removes minerals from the water. We need those trace minerals. They are good for our health. Certain industries need de-mineralized water and that was one reason the system was originally designed. It was not designed as a solution for people to have cleaner, better tasting drinking water.
If you want better drinking water, you want a multi-stage filter that includes a carbon activated filter. That is the bottom line.

Hopefully, this information answers your questions about how does reverse osmosis work.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Sanitization

It is common knowledge since long that ultraviolet light can decompose organic molecules but only a few decades ago science explored into cleaning surfaces using UV rays. Experiments conducted in early 1970’s, proved UV light a great surface cleaner. Scientists learned through research and experimentation that the combination of ozone and UV could clean surfaces up to two thousand times faster as compared to one or the other alone.

Most house holds use UV lamps to drive away insects and kill micro-organisms. These are called germicidal lamps. Modern day buildings and offices use UV radiation in the C band for a wide array of germicidal applications to eradicate bacteria, yeast, mold, and viruses.

UV light treatments are typically used in pharmaceuticals, hospitals, beverage production, meat storage and processing plants, bakeries, breweries, animal laboratories. UV light can be used anywhere where microbial contamination is a major concern. As a treatment these are used in the upper air where a beam running across the ceiling keeps the indoor air quality free of microbial contamination.



If your employees or building occupants have concerns about the indoor air quality or have increased illnesses as colds, flu, asthma, weakness, burning eyes, itching skin, rashes, sore throats, allergies, lethargy, or headaches, then you should put an IAQ evaluation of the building on top of your list.

Get your building and the HVAC system inspected. Look for bacteria affecting your workers, colleagues or fellow residents. Your living and working spaces need inspection for mycotoxins and endotoxins.

Look up http://www.jnblabs.com/ - Indoor Air Quality Experts. JNB can investigate, test and remedy IAQ related concerns and problems.

COAL DUST IS LETHAL FOR LUNGS

Coal dust is an odorless, dark brown to black dust created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizing coal.

Exposure to coal pile dust can cause coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath while chronic exposure to coal dust may result in symptoms of pneumoconiosis, bronchitis and emphysema that will require medical expense to cure.

Coal dust may cause coal workers' pneumoconiosis which is characterized by development of coal macules, a collection of coal dust particles with reticulin and collagen accumulation. These lesions can be seen as small opacities on X-rays.

While complicated CWP is characterized by lesions consisting of a mass of rubbery, well defined black tissue sticking to the chest wall. This causes a decrease in ventilatory capacity, low diffusing capacity, low arterial oxygen tension, pulmonary hypertension, and premature death. The disease can progress even after the cessation of exposure. The coal dust accumulates in the lungs and the tissue's reaction to its presence leads to complications.

Coal dust is also recognized as a cause of chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is characterized by a persistent cough that produces sputum and yellowish green or green mucus, for at least three months in two consecutive years. Coal dust irritates the airways to the point of inflammation.

Exposure to coal dust is associated with an increased risk of focal emphysema, which is also very dangerous condition for lungs. At coal fired power plants, proper measures should be taken to protect employees from coal dust. JNB excels in fugitive dust control measures and is great to consult with. Not only are they experts at water treatment but since 1982, they have mastered fugitive dust control measures.

For more info:
http://www.jnblabs.com/project/jnb_coal.htm

Hydrogen Peroxide - A Biocide And Corrosion Inhibitor

“Peroxide is a very strong oxidizing agent. It is the third strongest oxidizing material next to ozone and fluorine. It functions by oxidizing or “burning” anything it contacts. In the oxidation process, the peroxide is reduced to water and oxygen.

The contact of peroxide with any organic will reduce the organic to carbon dioxide and water with any inorganic portion reduced to ash or a silt. It is in this manner that peroxide functions as a most effective biocide. It will oxidize animal life (bacteria) by destroying the cell walls resulting in sterilization. In the case of plant life, (algae, fungus and molds) it will again oxidize the cells and convert to carbon dioxide and water with some inorganic silt (suspended solids). In all cases, the driving force is the level of residual peroxide.

The contact of peroxide with a metal surface will cause an oxide to form on that surface. This is the principal basis for peroxide acting as a corrosion inhibitor. The maintenance of the barrier oxide layer on the metal surface is the mechanism of protection with peroxide. The tendency in the system environment is for suspended solids fouling, biological fouling and scaling to act as deterrents to maintain the oxide barrier. The peroxide serves most effectively for control of the biological aspect. Suspended solids must be controlled through filtration and system blow down. Other chemistry factors like calcium hardness, alkalinity, conductivity and pH must be balanced
for scale control.”

(Excerpt from Alcatel Lucent Trial 2007)

For more info log on to: http://www.jnblabs.com/