Silica, Silicosis, and Lung Cancer in Diatomite Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Checkoway, Harvey ; Demers PA ; Heyer NJ ; Hughes JM ; Seixas, Noah S. ; Weill H ; Welp EA
• Description:
  This project served to update a cohort mortality study of workers exposed to crystalline silica (14808607), primarily as cristobalite (14464461). Exposure occurred during the mining and processing of diatomaceous-earth in two facilities located in California. There were 2,961 workers in the cohort who had at least 12 months of cumulative service at either facility. This update extended an earlier study by 7 years. Mortality was followed up for 1942 through 1994. Chest radiographs were obtained for 2,520 workers. As expected, radiographically determined silicosis was strongly related to cumulative exposure to crystalline silica. Compared to national rates, mortality rates from both nonmalignant respiratory disease and lung cancer were elevated among these workers. A strong dose response association was noted for cumulative exposure to crystalline silica and mortality from nonmalignant respiratory diseases. Lung cancer mortality was also associated with cumulative exposure to crystalline silica, but the association was not as strong as that from nonmalignant respiratory disease. Confounding by either smoking or by occupational asbestos (1332214) exposure was not likely to account for the observed exposure/response relations with nonmalignant respiratory disease and lung cancer mortality. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Lung Lung Diseases Mining Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Silicon Dioxide

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• Keywords:
  Lung-cancer Mining-industry Mortality-surveys NIOSH-Grant Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-factors Silica-dusts
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-52
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00238178
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB97-207120
• Citation:
  Department of Environmental Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 1996 Nov; :1-52
• Contact Point Address:
  Environmental Health University of Washington SC-34 Seattle, WA 98195
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4) ; Cristobalite (CAS RN 14464-46-1) ; Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19940401
• Source Full Name:
  Department of Environmental Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
• End Date:
  19960331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0fe14841bdc6f7d54ffc8a86e7f3647984517d44f23c158564b3f6c426c7705d0bcd4cd434c06f0797e0bb2d31f5bc81feaab849e309e309e3e0ec7312db252a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217907/cdc_217907_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.99 MB ]