Risk of Silicosis in Cohorts of Chinese Tin and Tungsten Miners, and Pottery Workers (I): An Epidemiological Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Attfield MD ; Chen JQ ; Chen W ; Gao, Peng-Fei ; Hearl, Frank J. ; Hnizdo, Eva ; Lu J ; Wallace WE
• Description:
  Epidemiological evaluations of the risk of silicosis in relation to exposure to crystalline silica have raised the question of whether different types of silica dust exposures vary with respect to their ability to cause silicosis. The aim of this study is to compare the risk of silicosis among cohorts of silica dust-exposed Chinese tin miners, tungsten miners, and pottery workers and to assess whether gravimetric measurements of respirable silica dust sufficiently determine the risk of silicosis or whether other factors of exposure may play a significant role. Cohorts were selected from 20 Chinese mines and potteries. Inclusion criteria were starting employment after January 1, 1950 and being employed for at least 1 year during 1960-1974 in one of the selected workplaces. Radiological follow-up for silicosis onset was from January 1, 1950 through December 31, 1994. Silicosis was assessed according to the Chinese radiological criteria for diagnosis of pneumoconiosis (as suspect, Stage I, II, or III). Exposure-response relationships were estimated for silicosis of Stage I or higher. Silica dust exposure was estimated in terms of cumulative total dust exposure, calculated from a workplace, job title, and calendar year exposure matrix, and individual occupational histories. Cumulative total dust exposure was converted in two steps into cumulative respirable dust exposure and cumulative respirable silica dust exposure using conversion factors estimated from side-by-side measurements conducted in 1988-89. The male cohorts included 4,028 tin miners, 14,427 tungsten miners, and 4,547 pottery workers who had similar onset of employment and duration of follow-up. For a given exposure level, the risk of silicosis was higher for the tin and tungsten than the pottery workers. The observed differences in the risk of silicosis among the three cohorts suggest that silica dust characteristics, in addition to cumulative respirable silica dust exposure, may affect the risk of silicosis. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Silicates Ceramics Demography Dust Environmental Monitoring Epidemiology Lung Lung Diseases Mining Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sex Characteristics Silicon Dioxide Tin Compounds

  More +
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Quartz Cohort Studies Demographic-characteristics Dust-exposure Exposure-assessment Exposure-response Differences Gravimetric-analysis Mine-workers Miners Occupational-exposure Pottery-industry Pottery-workers-lung Respirable-dust Risk-analysis Risk-factors Risk Assessment Sex-factors Silica Silica-dusts Silicates Silicosis Surveillance Tin-compounds Tungsten-compounds

  More +
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• Volume:
  48
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027688
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2005 Jul; 48(1):1-9
• Contact Point Address:
  Eva Hnizdo, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  EHnizdo@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Tin (CAS RN 7440-31-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• 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:d097fd347736dfd4e1b0e040cf6f3a8a09786146b52dea862bccf1ddcfb5ae8cb7099fee42ac051cbcffb9df337e8d1ac32d4935cca37d71c2cd193aad2fbd83
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197627/cdc_197627_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 141.60 KB ]