Preliminary findings of an epidemiologic study of talc workers (industrial hygiene portion).

Details

• Personal Author:
  Greife, Alice L.
• Description:
  Worker exposure to talc in mining and milling operations and the characteristics of the talc (14807966) were determined. Total and respirable dust concentrations, percent of free silica (7631869), trace element concentrations, and percents of fibrous minerals, calcite and dolomite were determined for seven talc mines and eight mills in Montana, Texas, and North Carolina. Personal respirable breathing zone samples were obtained to determine individual exposure and to estimate exposure for each type of job. Trace element concentrations were lowest in Montana talc and slightly higher in North Carolina talc. Texas talc had a large concentration of calcium and higher percentages of dolomite and calcite than talc from the other two regions. Free silica content in bulk samples was below the limit of detection of 0.8 percent in Montana talc, 1.45 percent in North Carolina talc, and 2.23 percent in Texas talc. Silica content in respirable dust samples was below the limit of detection in Montana and North Carolina talc and slightly higher in Texas talc. Montana talc contained no fibrous minerals, but Texas talc contained tremolite and antigorite. North Carolina talc contained acicular particles with some diameters smaller than 0.1 micron. Average personal respirable breathing zone dust concentrations were 0.26 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/CuM) in the mill and 0.14mg/CuM in the mine in North Carolina, 1.1mg/CuM in the mill and 0.45 in the mine in Texas. Exposures were highest in the mill for baggers and mill operators and in the mine for truck drivers and front end loader operators.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Air Pollution Coal Coal Mining Maintenance Mining Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Preventive Medicine Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide Staff Development Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Dust-analysis Dust-sampling Epidemiology Health-surveys Mine-workers Mineral-dusts Silicates Talcosis
• Publisher:
  NCI; EPA; NIOSH
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Conference/Symposia Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Maryland ; Montana ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Texas ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  ALOSH - Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Safety and Health
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  229-240
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00123095
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the first NCI/EPA/NIOSH collaborative workshop: progress on joint environmental and occupational cancer studies, May 6-8, 1980, Rockville, Maryland. Kraybill HF, Blackwood IC, Freas NB, eds. Washington, DC: National Cancer Institute, Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1980 May; :229-240
• CAS Registry Number:
  Talc (Mg3H2(SiO3)4) (CAS RN 14807-96-6) ; Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Editor(s):
  Kraybill HF ; Blackwood IC ; Freas NB
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1980
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the first NCI/EPA/NIOSH collaborative workshop: progress on joint environmental and occupational cancer studies, May 6-8, 1980, Rockville, Maryland
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:aec4bd74d7b0524972efd782f3c79b8ae820c2f2195362939dd71a926286246aab593d23c843d72c1ed02e1df576293e8983e5b337419bab2eab022d5c01cdca
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/179470/cdc_179470_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 150.07 KB ]