Organization, objectives, and achievements of a three-government collaborative program on diesel emissions reduction research and development

The historical development of the collaboration among three funding agencies - the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM), the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET), and the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) - is briefly discussed in this paper. Official collaboration began with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by all three governments to resolve a number of issues including (1) the use of a criterion by which to evaluate the comprehensive toxicity of the major components of diesel exhaust, and the consequent provision of a tool for ventilation prescription and engineering economic studies, (2) research and development to produce add-on exhaust hardware, and the study of other techniques to reduce emissions from diesel engines, (3) development of the means of measuring the impact of such devices on the underground environment for the benefit of regulatory agencies and mine operators, and (4) synthesis of the principles learned into an overall strategy to improve mine environments, reduce ventilation costs, increase productivity, and improve safety underground.