The total environment in which mining takes place is the result of many physical, regional and circumstantial conditions. This is a 1986 text which deals with the assessment and control of these conditions, providing a source of ready reference for engineers and advanced students studying the mining environment. With the need for greater economy in the extraction of minerals, the search for deposits of minerals, increasing mining legislation and pressure from environmental groups, the study of mining engineering is becoming increasingly important. This book relates the mining environment to both the efficiency and safety of the production process, and to the physiological and psychological effects on personnel and the public. Each element of the environment - gas, dust, radiation, heat, water and noise - is considered in relation to its accompanying hazards, its sources, detection, and control measures, resulting in a detailed text for the study of the design, operation and maintenance of mines.