NIOSH Mining Safety and Health Research

The Diesel Monitoring and Control Program evaluates and develops monitoring and control technologies for reducing miner exposure to the harmful health effects of diesel emissions in an economically viable manner.

NIOSH has determined that diesel exhaust is a potential human carcinogen, based on a combination of chemical, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity data. Acute exposures to diesel exhaust have also been linked to health problems such as eye and nose irritation, headaches, nausea, and asthma. Underground miners can be exposed to over 100 times the typical environmental concentration of diesel exhaust and over 10 times that measured in other workplaces. Miner exposure to diesel emissions promises to become even more widespread as diesel equipment becomes more popular.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration requires the use of diesel control technology to reduce a miner's exposure to diesel particulate matter and research addressing new technologies for both monitoring and control of diesel emissions is necessary to accomplish this goal.