Mortality study of gold miners exposed to silica and nonasbestiform amphibole minerals: an update with 14 more years of follow-up

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brown D ; Steenland, Kyle
• Description:
  A mortality study of 3,328 South Dakota gold miners exposed to silica (14808607) and nonasbestiform amphibole minerals was updated by an extension of the follow up through 1990. The miners had worked underground for at least 1 year between 1940 and 1965. To estimate exposures to dust in the mine over time, a job/exposure matrix was created; full time underground jobs were divided into five major groups based on job function and dust exposures: laborers, miners, motormen, supervisors, and skip loaders. A sixth category was created for nonexposed workers. Existing measurements for each year from 1937 to 1975 were used for the calculation of average dust exposures for each job category. Analyses were conducted for mortality, life table, person years, national rates for multiple causes of death, lung cancer, and cigarette smoking factors. There were 1,551 deaths observed; silicosis was mentioned on death certificates for 140. The calculated standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for lung cancer was only marginally elevated for the cohort (SMR was 1.13 with US population as a referent group); a positive exposure response trend was not seen with lung cancer mortality and estimated cumulated dust exposure. In a 1960 cross sectional survey, miners were found to smoke more than the general US population. Other diseases associated with silica exposure were significantly increased; the SMRs for tuberculosis and silicosis were 3.44 and 2.61, respectively, with clear exposure response trends. Significant excesses of arthritis, musculoskeletal diseases, autoimmune conditions, and diseases of the blood and blood forming organs associated with silica exposure were observed in multiple cause analysis. The authors conclude that excess mortality from several causes of death known to be related to silica was observed in this cohort. Although lung cancer showed some elevation, a positive exposure/response trend was not seen with cumulative dust exposure. The discrepancy in the findings of this study compared to others may arise from differences in the mineralogic quality of the silica and the presence of confounding factors. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asbestos Dust Epidemiology Inorganic Chemicals Lung Lung Diseases Mining Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide Silicosis

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• Keywords:
  Asbestos Author Keywords: Silica Cancer-rates Gold Miners Lung-cancer Lung-disease Lung Cancer Mineral-dusts Mining-industry Mortality-data Mortality-surveys NIOSH-Author Occupational-exposure Silica-dusts Silicosis Underground-miners

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8 ; South Dakota
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  217-229
• Volume:
  27
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00225221
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 1995 Feb; 27(2):217-229
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• 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:ae217a15fd02cdfb639a5682b43c84b6dead3344aedf5ad8d5280b4a1be6089f0a2243c1557df1dae9dd1dd42f47ae7ce68157663864c4e6fc1ee67f7273ffcf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205155/cdc_205155_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 917.02 KB ]