A Summary of Recent Findings on Occupational Lung Disease in US Underground Coal Miners

Details

• Personal Author:
  Attfield MD
• Description:
  Tabulation of information on prevalence of CWP shows that there has been a reduction in disease levels over the period 1969 to the late 1980s, an interval that coincides with the reductions in dust levels mandated by the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act. However, the most recent information on prevalence, and results on CWP development since 1969, imply that that the present dust limit of 2 mg/ml may not be successful in eliminating CWP from the work force. Recent studies of exposure response for CWP and dust exposure, both in this country, and in Britain, and study of CWP incidence and progression, indicate that some development of CWP is to be expected among miners that complete a full working life at the current 2 mg/m) limit. Recent findings on pulmonary function in US coal miners confirm those seen in British miners, and indicate that dust exposure can have deleterious effects on health apart from CWP. Based on the above results, it remains imperative that mining engineers and mine operators take all possible steps both to control and to minimize dust levels, so as to ensure that miners can retire from mining after a working life without impairment or disability. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Dust Lung Lung Diseases Mining Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Coal-dust Coal-miners Coal-mining Coal-workers Coal-workers-pneumoconiosis Lung-disease Lung-disorders Lung-fibrosis Miners Respirable-dust Respiratory-system-disorders Underground-miners Underground-mining

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISBN:
  9780873351188
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046274
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the 6th US mine ventilation symposium, June 21-23, 1993, Salt Lake City, Utah. Bhaskar R, ed. Littleton, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, 1993 Jun; :513-516
• Contact Point Address:
  M.D. Attfield, NIOSH, DRDS, 944 Chestnut Ridge Road, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505
• Editor(s):
  Bhaskar R
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the 6th US mine ventilation symposium, June 21-23, 1993, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3c52b4884cd23fb6aebadacaad8f54215aa8124a52f92d6c1c6d73e1c52d5bb278fc4da716f7ff52ac00b1de111a7bb51b9a90e55018c04e235b1ce84ba081c5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228126/cdc_228126_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.25 MB ]