This handbook is divided into 5 chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the health effects of exposure to respirable coal and silca dust. Chapter 2 discusses dust sampling instruments and sampling methods. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 focus on dust control technologies for longwall mining, continuous mining, and surface mining, respectively.

This handbook was developed to identify available engineering controls that can assist the industry in reducing worker exposure to respirable silica dust. The intent is to identify the "best practices" that are available for controlling respirable dust level in underground and surface metal/nonmetal mining operations. This handbook provides general information on the control technologies along with extensive references.