Distribution of Small Opacities on Chest Radiographs of United States Coal Miners

Details

• Personal Author:
  Laney AS ; Petsonk, Edward L.
• Description:
  Background: Review articles and textbooks describe the location of the radiographic shadows of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) as predominately in the upper lung zones. Using National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) surveillance data we evaluated the zonal distribution of small pneumoconiotic opacities in working US coal miners. Methods: Data were derived from the NIOSH-administered Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP). As part of the program, all US coal miners working underground are offered chest radiographs (CXRs). NIOSH B Readers interpret CXRs from participating miners according to the International Labour Office Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses, recording small opacity profusion, size, and shape, as well as the involvement of each of the six lungs zones. Included in this analysis were results of the most recent classification for all miners examined between 1970 and 2009 with CXRs judged consistent with pneumoconiosis and demonstrating profusion >1/0 (n=14,572). Results: CWP was recorded in a total of 63,311 lung zones, averaging 4.3 of the 6 zones among the affected miners. Overall, small opacities were noted approximately equally over the 63,311 affected zones, with 32.5% of the total involvement noted in the upper zones, 32.4% in the middle zones, and 35.1% in the lower zones. The primary shape was recorded as rounded for 9,241 (63.4%) miners and irregular for 5,331 (36.6%). For CXRs with primarily rounded opacities, no zonal predominance was evident (upper=35.3%, middle=32.0%, lower=32.7%). In contrast, for CXRs showing primarily irregular opacities, lower zone involvement was predominant (upper= 26.6%, middle=33.2%, lower=40.3). In the subgroup of 433 miners whose CXRs demonstrated primarily rounded opacities in only a single lung zone, an upper zone predominance was observed (upper=60.0%, middle=15.7%, lower=24.2%). Conclusions: The overall distribution of small pneumoconiotic opacities on the chest radiographs of working US coal miner participants in the CWHSP was not consistent with the conventional expectations of upper lung zone predominance in CWP. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Environmental Monitoring Irritants Lung Lung Diseases Mining Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Radiography Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Airborne-particles Biological-effects Biological-monitoring Breathing Disease-incidence Dust-exposure Dust-inhalation Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Lung-disease Lung-disorders Lung-irritants Mine-workers Mining-industry Occupational-diseases Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-health Occupational-respiratory-disease Particle-aerodynamics Pulmonary-congestion Pulmonary-disorders Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-function-tests Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Respirable-dust Respiratory-hypersensitivity Respiratory-infections Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-analysis Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Surveillance Work-analysis Work-areas Work-environment Work-operations Work-organization Work-performance Work-practices Worker-health Workplace-studies X-ray-analysis X-ray-diagnosis

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• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; 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
• Volume:
  181
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037088
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2010 May; 181(Meeting Abstracts):A1736
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
• Supplement:
  Meeting Abstracts
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:714fdf28db21631ccfde1317c8fd8641efed632b8f944ec76bfd240914a43f37bb990fd6fa85cb4c3ded294f70a9b5014f53b5f538552a73b920a4a060714a18
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188245/cdc_188245_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 17.33 KB ]