As part of our ongoing initiative to provide all underground staff with the most effective and successful respirator dust and silica protection, our United States Coronado division has been collaborating with other miners, our peers, and industry to seek full approval for mechanical features used in the CleanSpace Ex Powered Respirator. US mine sites using the respirator were previously not authorised via regulation to use the respirator in its full operational capacity.
Coronado began using CleanSpace EX in January 2022 at the Buchanan #1 Mine when the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) granted Buchanan Mine #1 Petition of Modification. The Logan Division submitted their petition soon after Buchanan received theirs.
Challenge
Our challenge was to conduct a trial of the respirator to ensure its advantages, and convince authorities to modify regulations to ensure the respirator’s use in our mines.
Solution
While the CleanSpace Ex is an intrinsically safe device approved in other countries, Coronado US had to file a Petition for Modification with MSHA to utilise the device at our work sites. Approval was granted under several conditions, including the requirement for weekly permissibility checks on each unit, record keeping, and specialised training. Logan received approval on July 31, 2023.
Outcomes
The benefits far outweigh the provisions, and include:
- Very high protection from coal mine dust and silica
- No fogging of glasses or masks
- Unrestricted breathing
- Lightweight units, with no requirement for belts or waist-mounted battery packs, making the CleanSpace Ex comfortable and easy to wear over long periods
- Reusable and cost-effective.
CleanSpace Ex respirators are now available to employees who have asked to use them. The Logan Division is continuing to be stocked with the masks, since getting approval on July 31, 2023. We continue to partner closely with the device manufacturer to provide feedback from our operators to enable improvements to increase comfort levels.
After our initial approval at Buchanan #1 mine, many other coal mining companies throughout the US have filed Petition’s of Modifications to be able to provide the greatest level of protection to their employees.
