A Study of Workers in the Vermont Granite Industry: A Prospective Epidemiologic Investigation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burgess WA ; DiBerardinis L ; Fine, Lawrence J. ; Peters, John M. ; Theriault GP
• Description:
  This study consisted of a prospective investigation of cohorts of granite shed workers, granite quarry workers, and marble workers studied in 1970 through 1972. There were 677 granite shed workers seen both in 1970 and in 1972. The granite quarry workers included 546 seen in 1970 and 532 seen in 1972. There were 107 marble workers seen in 1971 and 1972. A group of 344 workers from foundries and the talc industry was also studied to determine the effects of smoking on pulmonary function. The findings indicated that the prospective, follow up study confirms the results from an earlier cross sectional study. The annual decrement in pulmonary function appeared to be excessive in this population. There was a relationship between levels of dust exposure and rate of decline which cannot be accounted for by age, height or smoking. Smoking itself influenced the rate of decrement. Workers who have never smoked showed the least decrement, while current smokers showed the most. Heavy smokers had greater decrements than light smokers. No consistent relationship was found between X-ray opacities and rate of pulmonary function decrement. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Mining Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Smokers Tobacco Products
• Keywords:
  Cigarette-smoking Contract-099-72-0066 Dust-exposure Humans Mineral-dusts NIOSH-Contract Occupational-exposure Pulmonary-function-tests Quarry-workers Respiratory-system-disorders
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Final Contract Report
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-35
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00235390
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB97-151740
• Citation:
  Kresge Center for Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, 1973 Jan; :1-35
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1973
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Kresge Center for Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:32edb5249bd54bbd86dc21b37e2b72be34aa05c420d60553c9f7d46780079534fb92364119510593f692f46cbc6d0d38eade4f246f578db54ba4163ebdc0558e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197769/cdc_197769_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 909.42 KB ]