In the late 1990s, despite years of efforts to understand and reduce coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP) prevalence from more than 30% in 1970 to less than 4.2%, the level of occurrence among the US coal miners increased unexpectedly. The recent resurgence of lung diseases has raised concerns in the scientific and regulatory communities. In 2014, the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued a new dust rule changing the respirable coal mine dust (RCMD) exposure limits, measurement technology, and sampling protocol. The analysis for probable causes for the substantial increase in the CWP incidence rate is rather complicated. This paper aims to conduct a review of RCMD respiratory deposition, health effects, monitoring, regulations, and particle characteristics. The primary sources of RCMD along with the health risks from potential exposure are highlighted, and the current RCMD exposure regulations of the major coal producer countries are compared. A summary of RCMD characterization studies from 1972 to the present is provided. A review of the literature revealed that numerous factors, including geological and mining parameters, advancements in mining practices, particle characteristics, and monitoring approaches are considered to contribute to the recent resurgence of RCMD lung diseases. However, the root causes of the problem are still unknown. The effectiveness of the new dust rules in the United States will probably take years to be correctly assessed. Therefore, future research is needed to understand the relationship between RCMD particle characteristics and lung deposition, and the efficacy of current monitoring practices to measure the true dose of RCMD exposure.

In the United States, an unexpected and severe increase in coal miners’ lung diseases in the late 1990s prompted researchers to investigate the causes of the disease resurgence. This study aims to scrutinize the effects of various mining parameters, including coal rank, mine size, mine operation type, coal seam height, and geographical location on the prevalence of coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) in surface and underground coal mines. A comprehensive dataset was created using the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Employment and Accident/Injury databases. The information was merged based on the mine ID by utilizing SQL data management software. A total number of 123,589 mine-year observations were included in the statistical analysis. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model was used to conduct a statistical analysis on a total of 29,707, and 32,643 mine-year observations for underground and surface coal mines, respectively. The results of the econometrics approach revealed that coal workers in underground coal mines are at a greater risk of CWP comparing to those of surface coal operations. Furthermore, underground coal mines in the Appalachia and Interior regions are at a higher risk of CWP prevalence than the Western region. Surface coal mines in the Appalachian coal region are more likely to CWP development than miners in the Western region. The analysis also indicated that coal workers working in smaller mines are more vulnerable to CWP than those in large mine sizes. Furthermore, coal workers in thin-seam underground mine operations are more likely to develop CWP.

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The Gilan-e-Gharb block is known as a prospective area for hydrocarbon resources in the form of oil, gas in deep potential and natural bitumen (Gilsonite) on the surface. Natural bitumen is not clearly detectable by geochemical or geophysical methods. Hereupon, identifying high potential areas for further exploration, attempted with the help of AHP-Fuzzy and TOPSIS methods. The comprehensive database of geological and geostructural records, satellite imagery analysis by remote sensing and mine indexes counted as the inputs for this method. First, the lithological unit as the main mineralization hosts determined with respect to the dominant geological structures as a factor of controlling natural bitumen placement (fold, fracture and faults) in the Gilan-e-Gharb block. The Gachsaran, Asmari, Pabdeh and Gurpi Formations identified as the most important lithological units for mineralization. Placement and distribution of natural bitumen mineralization in the form of mine indexes are added to the geology database. Finally, we assigned appropriate weights to applied information layers using Analytical Hierarchy Processing (AHP) based on knowledgeable information and field studies to synthesize exploratory data. Then, we used the FTOPSIS method to define the Positive Ideal Solution (FPIS, A+) that allows maximizing the beneficial characteristics and minimizing the impediment characteristics and the Negative Ideal Solution (FNIS, A-) that minimizes the beneficial characteristics and maximizes the impediment characteristics. This method, as a new approach in the exploration of minerals with a shortage of data, is applicable to other mineral deposits.

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