Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine, 2022, 10, 167-179 https://www.scirp.org/journal/odem ISSN Online: 2333-357X ISSN Print: 2333-3561 DOI: 10.4236/odem.2022.103013 Jun. 22, 2022 167 Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine Respirable Dust and Respirable Crystalline Silica Concentration in Workers of Copper Mine, Mongolia Altansukh Otgonnasan 1 , Gantugs Yundendorj 1 , Oyu Tsogtbayar 1 , Zoljargal Erdenechimeg 1 , Tsatsral Ganbold 1 , Tergel Namsrai 2 , Naransukh Damiran 3 , Erdenechimeg Erdenebayar 1* 1 Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 2 Centre for Research on Aging Health and Wellbeing, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia 3 Health and Safety Solution Ltd., Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Abstract Introduction: Prosperity in the mining industry in Mongolia has led to an increase in the number of mining workers, resulting in an increase in occupa- tional exposures and the prevalence of occupational diseases and disabilities. The aim of this study was to assess the personal exposure of workers to res- pirable dust (RD) and respirable crystalline silica (RCS). Method: A cross- sectional study was conducted at the Erdenet Copper Ore Mining and in- cluded 581 personal samples of RD and 324 samples of RCS, collected in 2018-2020. Results: The study results revealed that the geometric mean (GM) of RD was 0.35 mg/m 3 (95% CI 0.32 - 0.39). The RD concentration in 5.9% (n = 34) of all the samples exceeded the permissible exposure level (PEL) (3 mg/mg 3 ). The GM of RCS was 0.012 mg/m 3 (95% CI 0.010 - 0.016). In total, 12.0% (n = 39) of all RCS sample concentrations exceeded the PEL (0.1 mg/m 3 ). Conclusion: Steel smelters, blasters, welders, and maintenance la- borers were exposed to RD, while crushers, operators, drilling machinists, and maintenance laborers were exposed to RCS. Therefore, regular monitor- ing of the work environment, risk-based health examinations for dust-exposed workers, efficient support for dust mitigation, reduction measures at the source, and engineering controls are needed. Keywords Copper Mine, Dust Exposure, Respirable, Quartz Silica, Cyclone How to cite this paper: Otgonnasan, A., Yundendorj, G., Tsogtbayar, O., Erdene- chimeg, Z., Ganbold, T., Namsrai, T., Da- miran, N. and Erdenebayar, E. (2022) Res- pirable Dust and Respirable Crystalline Silica Concentration in Workers of Copper Mine, Mongolia. Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine, 10, 167-179. https://doi.org/10.4236/odem.2022.103013 Received: April 28, 2022 Accepted: June 19, 2022 Published: June 22, 2022 Copyright © 2022 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access