Health studies of miners and millers exposed to talc.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gamble, John F. ; Greife, Alice L.
• Description:
  Occupational lung disease was studied in workers who mined and milled talc (14807966) in New York, Montana, Texas, and North Carolina. Occupational exposure to talc has been associated with silicosis and interstitial fibrosis. In the population studied, personal air samples were collected to determine time weighted average exposures to respirable dust, free silica, and mineral particulate. Cumulative exposures were calculated on the basis of job classification. Chest radiographs and pulmonary function tests were evaluated for all workers. The entire study population was classified according to age, height, sex, smoking habits, weight, region of employment, and presence or absence of cough, phlegm, dyspnea, and pleural thickening. Analysis of intraregion dose response relations showed no consistent or strong association of exposure with respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function. A statistically significant association of bilateral pleural thickening with exposure was found, and was dose related in all regions except Texas. Sex, age, height, and smoking were, in general, significant predictors of pulmonary function. The authors conclude that their findings support the hypothesis that talc is a causative agent of pleural thickening. However, they state, the relationship between pleural thickening and mortality is unknown. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Environmental Monitoring Lung Mining Morbidity Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Talc Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Mine-workers Morbidity-rates Occupational-exposure Occupational-respiratory-disease Pleural-cavity Pulmonary-system-disorders Respirable-dust Talc-dust Workplace-studies
• ISBN:
  9780250406104
• Publisher:
  Butterworth
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; Montana ; New York ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Texas ; 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:
  277-302
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00170700
• Citation:
  Health issues related to metal and nonmetallic mining. Wagner WL, Rom WN, Merchant JA, eds. Boston, MA: Butterworth, 1983 Jan; :277-302
• CAS Registry Number:
  Talc (Mg3H2(SiO3)4) (CAS RN 14807-96-6)
• Editor(s):
  Wagner WL; Rom WN; Merchant JA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Health issues related to metal and nonmetallic mining. Wagner WL, Rom WN, Merchant JA, eds. Boston, MA: Butterworth, 1983 Jan; . Proceedings of the Fourth Annual RMCOEH Occupational and Environmental Health Conference, April 7-9, 1982, Park City, Utah, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:be130f68b08d6e2222b1d4968acbeebe6cac9fc0ab0104569d5b081a55ee9ad8522f342a6e7dd062bbf0238f0d6ae5b7ae43c159c498f676005e97e0b0696251
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/185226/cdc_185226_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.16 MB ]