Respiratory health status of gilsonite workers.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Castellan, Robert M. ; Keimig DG ; Kinsley KB ; Kullman, Greg J.
• Description:
  The respiratory health status of workers at gilsonite (12002436) mines was surveyed at the only two sites of gilsonite mining, eastern Utah and western Colorado. A cross sectional survey of 100 male workers from three of the four mining sites was conducted. Workers were given a questionnaire concerning respiratory symptoms, smoking habits, demographic information and occupational history. Spirometry and chest radiography were performed. Airborne concentrations of respirable dust, total dust, and respirable crystalline silica (14808607) in personal breathing zone and area samples were analyzed. Miners and miner's helpers had mean concentrations of respirable dust above the recommended nuisance particulate Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 5mg/m3; two of 20 respirable dust samples had crystalline silica concentrations which exceeded the TLV for quartz containing dust. Five percent of the workers had radiographic evidence of pneumoconiosis. Workers with high exposure jobs showed increased prevalence of phlegm and cough but without any evidence of pulmonary impairment. The authors recommend reduction of exposure levels for workers with current high exposure. The continued monitoring of health effects of gilsonite is also recommended. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Environmental Monitoring Hydrocarbons Mining Occupational Health Pneumoconiosis Radiography Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Author Keywords: Gilsonite Dust Bronchitis Chest-X-rays Dust-exposure Mine-workers Mineral-dusts NIOSH-Author Occupational Diseases Pneumoconiosis Pulmonary-system-disorders

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Utah ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  287-296
• Volume:
  11
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00168300
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 1987 Mar; 11(3):287-296
• Contact Point Address:
  Robert M. Castellan MD, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, NIOSH, 944 Chestnut Ridge Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7) ; Uintaite (CAS RN 12002-43-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:645b05c8d675e4c3d2512b3c52644af2cb194a9ee1031c273ff854be4e13dbabf48e7154f137a28a0137760a0fd5c8770beb6f85060ff0b7dcdf90e43004f953
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/185174/cdc_185174_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 684.37 KB ]