LAUSR

Abstract Hard coal miners most commonly use filtering-facepiece respirators to protect themselves from hazardous air particles. Prolonged exposure to coal mine dust is the cause of various pulmonary diseases, particularly coal workers' pneumoconiosis. This article presents the results of an assessment of the breathing resistance of filtering-facepiece respirators (FFRs), which are commonly used in underground hard coal mine workings. The results include survey studies and laboratory examinations of the effect of an increase in dust and moisture mass on the breathing resistance of FFRs. The survey was conducted among 150 respondents, who represented three groups of miners: workers who directly handle the material, workers who handle the transport of materials, and technical mining staff. The age of the employees was 21–50 years. In the study, we obtained the miners' opinions on the relevance of the application of respirators, their structural strength and the maximum use period in the arduous conditions of the mine. The laboratory examination results show that both dust and the moisture absorbed by the FFRs considerably affect the increase in breathing resistance. For this reason the time of use of the respirators in underground coal mining conditions is much shorter than expected. Our study may result in developing technologies to produce new and improved filtering materials and respiratory protection equipment in the mining industry, which will better secure miners against the harmful effect of mine dust.