Rise in Lung Transplants for Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis and Silicosis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blackley DJ ; Cummings, Kristin J. ; Flattery J ; Hall NB ; Harris DA ; Laney AS
• Description:
  The United States is experiencing unprecedented epidemics of the most severe form of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) in coal miners and silicosis in engineered stone countertop fabricators. Over the past two decades, industry-wide surveillance of U.S. coal miners documented a sharp rise in the prevalence of CWP, concentrated in the central Appalachian states of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. One in five veteran coal miners currently working in this region has radiographic evidence of CWP. Unlike for coal miners, there is no systematic medical monitoring of engineered stone fabricators in the United States, and public awareness of the respiratory hazards associated with this work is more limited. Recent U.S.-based reports by Fazio and Rose described >60 cases of silicosis in engineered stone fabricators, mostly among Latino immigrants in California, Colorado, and Texas. Larger-scale surveillance of 1,509 engineered stone workers in two Australian states identified 362 (24%) cases of silicosis, leading to a national ban on the manufacturing and use of engineered stone products. With the skyrocketing popularity of engineered stone countertops in American homes and the nearly 100,000 workers employed by the U.S. stone fabrication industry, there are concerns that many cases are going unrecognized, and the scale of this epidemic could grow dramatically. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Lung Lung Diseases Mining Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Black Lung Disease Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Lung Disorders Respiratory Diseases Silicosis Stone Products Surveillance
• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Contract
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA] ; San Francisco Region [OSHA] ; Virginia ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  211
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070469
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2025 Apr; 211(4):642-644
• Contact Point Address:
  David J. Blackley, Surveillance Branch, Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 willowdale Rd, Mailstop HG900.2, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  dblackley@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:785bfd832a855100a485665b661a8bdb6ea6c502ef655f74f4dee4556c76d6305687f67a4d16ff4faa27c0388b8c84ef0c0df80ba95af11a8b08dfe4a9a62cdf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208670/cdc_208670_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 141.40 KB ]