Women in Coal Mining—Radiographic Findings of Women Participants in the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program 1970–2022

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Womens Health (Larchmt)
• Personal Author:
  Hall, Noemi B. ; Myers, Nirmala T. ; Reynolds, Laura E. ; Blackley, David J. ; Laney, A. Scott
• Description:
  Objective:
  
  To describe the work experience and respiratory health of women coal miners in the United States using Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) data.
  
  Methods:
  
  Analysis included CWHSP participants with self-reported sex of female between January 1, 1970, and December 31, 2022, and examined radiographic surveillance, demographics, and job history. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-certified physicians classified chest radiographs.
  
  Results:
  
  Among 8,182 women participants, most worked <10 years and a majority reported working in non-dusty jobs. Among 3,392 with ≥1 year of coal mining tenure, 18 (0.5%) had evidence of pneumoconiosis, with no cases of progressive massive fibrosis.
  
  Conclusion:
  
  Women coal miners participating in the CWSHP had short mining careers and low pneumoconiosis prevalence. Few worked in the most dusty jobs, indicating limited exposure to coal mine dust. This underscores the need to explore women’s roles in mining, and for improved gender-specific employment reporting. Such changes can enhance health and work conditions for women in male-dominated industries.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adult Aged Anthracosis Coal Mining Female Humans Middle Aged Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Pneumoconiosis Population Surveillance Prevalence Radiography United States

  More +
• Keywords:
  Mining Occupational Pneumoconiosis Respiratory Surveillance
• Source:
  J Womens Health (Larchmt). 33(9):1219-1223
• Pubmed ID:
  38873759
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC11542931
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  33
• Issue:
  9
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5732a35fd43482453a15e686d8faf8e31829bdc1edff4e7d6146ab97f33a074b07b0a1f70fe92131b1eb22cb17c6f4a66f22698616e5164b3334c927c20a8dfd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169967/cdc_169967_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 131.75 KB ]