Pneumoconiosis and lung function in a group of kaolin workers.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Attfield MD ; Piacitelli, Laurie A. ; Sepulveda, Martin-Jose ; Tucker JH ; Vallyathan V
• Description:
  The effect of occupational exposure to kaolin (1318747) was investigated in current and past kaolin mill and mine employees. Comparisons employed in hazard free environments were used. Chest roentgenograms and questionnaires regarding occupational and smoking histories were taken. Pneumoconiosis was considered present if small opacities were observed. Breathing and area samples were collected at different work stations. Dust collected contained 96 percent kaolinite (1318747) and 4 percent titanium-dioxide (13463677). Respirable dust fractions were over 50 percent in areas adjacent to pulverizers and the bag house. Other locations exhibited respirable dust fractions of 10 to 20 percent. Personal samples were below what is considered the nuisance particulate threshold limit. No free silica (7631869) was found. Total dust exceeded 10 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) in three of five work stations. Dust of work sites of comparisons were between 0.16 and among current kaolin workers and 19 percent in former workers. Significant reduction of forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume, and peak flow rate were noted among kaolin workers. Pneumoconiosis was found only in workers who currently smoked or were former smokers. The authors suggest that controlled epidemiologic studies among kaolin workers are needed to produce pneumoconiotic data and to study the impact of dust on pulmonary exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Irritants Lung Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Analytical-methods Humans NIOSH-Author Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system-disorders Quantitative-analysis Respiration Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-protection
• ISSN:
  0003-0805
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  231-235
• Volume:
  127
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00148826
• Citation:
  Am Rev Respir Dis 1983 Feb; 127(2):231-235
• CAS Registry Number:
  Kaolinite (Al2(OH)4(Si2O5)) (CAS RN 1318-74-7) ; Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9) ; Titania (CAS RN 13463-67-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Review of Respiratory Disease
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:336a1fe5d071c92ed4b15830bfa673d9aefc344a51f0b70fc5ef991f1758ebe958c91e9e789f1a38d90bebc58921ea4b40917a59f5b6ca24e2eb058c8780c163
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/184853/cdc_184853_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 885.21 KB ]