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Dust Control Handbook for Industrial Minerals Mining and Processing

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per<strong>for</strong>med. Short-term stockpiles could consist of product or material that is being storedtemporarily until it is used in a process. Surge piles are common short-term stockpiles.Open areas are self-explanatory as they are large barren areas.<strong>Dust</strong> can be generated from stockpiles <strong>and</strong> open areas by wind velocities that entrainmaterial into the air. The United States Department of Agriculture states that erosion willtake place when "the surface soil is finely divided, loose, <strong>and</strong> dry; the surface is smooth9<strong>and</strong> bare; <strong>and</strong> the wind is strong." As stated previously, wind speeds as low as 13 mphcan result in entrainment of material <strong>for</strong> small diameter material (0.10 mm) [Chepil 1958].Conversely, there are several factors that can reduce wind erosion:soil that contains stable aggregates or clods that are large <strong>and</strong> dense to resist winderosion;soil that is compacted, roughened, or kept moist;vegetated soil or soil covered by vegetative residue (<strong>for</strong> example, straw); <strong>and</strong>when wind velocity near the ground surface is reduced or eliminated [Chepil1958].These four factors translate to the four dust control measures that can be applied to bothstockpiles <strong>and</strong> open areas: surface roughness, water, coatings, <strong>and</strong> wind barriers. Water,coatings, <strong>and</strong> to some extent wind barriers are generally applicable to stockpiles, while allfour measures can be applied to open areas.Surface RoughnessSurface roughness is important in wind erosion from open areas, but less important <strong>for</strong>stockpiles. Generally, the rougher the surface the less wind erosion affects it. This is true<strong>for</strong> both l<strong>and</strong> plots containing vegetative stubble <strong>and</strong> bare surface plots. The roughness <strong>for</strong>each type of plot is created by the amount <strong>and</strong> orientation of the stubble <strong>for</strong> the stubbleplots, <strong>and</strong> the amount of surface irregularities <strong>and</strong> large clods <strong>for</strong> the bare surface plot.The mechanisms <strong>for</strong> controlling wind erosion are to decrease the <strong>for</strong>ce of the wind on thesurface or to trap the eroding material with larger particles. Increasing the magnitude ofthe roughness <strong>for</strong> each plot can result in a decrease in soil erosion [Zingg 1951]. The bestdust control <strong>for</strong> open areas is to plant vegetation to cover the entire area. Typically thevegetation is a grass, clover, alfalfa, etc.One control measure <strong>for</strong> open areas is to roughen the surface by using chisels, such as thatprovided by a chisel-pointed cultivator (Figure 10.10) used in agriculture [Chepil <strong>and</strong>Woodruff 1955]. The depth of tilling should be 3 to 6 inches. If higher wind speeds areexpected then the depth should be increased to 8 to 14 inches. The objective of this tillingis to expose the rough large cloddy soil particles to the surface (Figure 10.11). The largeclods protect the smaller particle material from wind erosion [Woodruff et al. 1977]. Inorder <strong>for</strong> the clods to be truly effective, they must cover the majority of the surface. Thistillage also produces ridges <strong>and</strong> furrows which have the potential to reduce erosion 50–909Chepil, W.S., "Soil Conditions that Influence Wind Erosion." United States Department of AgricultureTechnical Bulletin No. 1195. June 1958. pg. 4.Haul Roads, Stockpiles, <strong>and</strong> Open Areas 259

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