Health Impact Assessment on Sand Stone Mining Workers Due to Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter from Mining Activities near Kota City

Mining is viewed as one of the important economic activities which have the potential of contributing to the development of economies. At the same time, the environmental and health impacts of mining on surrounding communities has been a major concern to governments. Rajasthan has been the largest sandstone producing state of India. The sand stone is obtained from underground by a process of drilling, blasting or cutting. Very small mines are called quarries from which stone is excavated by open mining. In sand stone mines both of the procedures mechanically and manually were adopted. Many mines/quarries used mining machinery, such as compressors, drilling machines for drilling and blasting, cranes for lifting big blocks, and dampers and trucks for transport. All of these processes produce huge amount of mining dust. A high percentage of silica presence in mining dust and the particle size distribution further suggest that the occupational environment of the workers and surrounding areas may be hazardous to human health. A high volume air sampler is used for sampling of RSPM (PM10) from various locations and the Questionnaire health survey conducted on 50 quarry workers at the mining area, which results indicate that the observed dust may be harmful to respiratory system and health. These workers inhale air which contains high amount of dust and these small particles are deposited in the respiratory system at different places. In this survey workers were divided in four groups depending upon the type of their age. Questionnaire survey is describe health problems by mining dust (breathing problem, fever, weight losses hearing problem, eye visuals effect, etc.) of quarry workers.