Mapping and Prediction of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis with Bioavailable Iron Content in the Bituminous Coals

Details

• Journal Article:
  Environmental Health Perspectives
• Personal Author:
  Huang, Xi ; Li, Weihong ; Attfield, Michael D. ; Nádas, Arthur ; Frenkel, Krystyna ; Finkelman, Robert B.
• Description:
  Based on the first National Study of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis (CWP) and the U.S. Geological Survey database of coal quality, we show that the prevalence of CXXT in seven coal mine regions correlates with levels of bioavailable iron (BAI) in the coals from that particular region (correlation coefficient r = 0.94, p < 0.0015). CWP prevalence is also correlated with contents of pyritic sulfur (r = 0.91, p < 0.0048) or total iron (r = 0.85, p < 0.016) but not with coal rank (r = 0.59, p < 0.16) or silica (r = 0.28, p < 0.54). BAI was calculated using our model, taking into account chemical interactions of pyrite, sulfuric acid, calcite, and total iron. That is, iron present in coals can become bioavailable by pyrite oxidation, which produces ferrous sulfate and sulfuric acid. Calcite is the major component in coals that neutralizes the available acid and inhibits iron's bioavailability. Therefore, levels of BAI in the coals are determined by the available amounts of acid after neutralization of calcite and the amount of total iron in the coals. Using the linear fit of CWP prevalence and the calculated BAI in the seven coal mine regions, we have derived and mapped the pneumoconiotic potencies of 7,000 coal samples. Our studies indicate that levels of BAI in the coals may be used to predict coal's toxicity, even before large-scale mining. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Calcium Carbonate Coal Coal Mining Dust Environmental Monitoring Hydrogen-Ion Concentration Inhalation ExposureIrritants Lung Lung Diseases Minerals Mining Models, Theoretical Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Pneumoconiosis Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sulfides

  More +
• Keywords:
  Coal-workers; Coal-workers-pneumoconiosis; Coal-processing; Coal-miners; Coal-mining; Coal-dust; Mine-workers; Mineral-processing; Miners; Mining-industry; Pneumoconiosis; Pulmonary-system-disorders; Pulmonary-system; Pulmonary-disorders; Respirable-dust; Respiratory-system-disorders; Respiratory-irritants; Black-lung; Analytical-processes; Analytical-methods; Statistical-analysis; Exposure-assessment; Exposure-levels; Surveillance
• Source:
  Environ Health Perspect 2005 Aug; 113(8):964-968
• ISSN:
  0091-6765
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  ES00260/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States ; OH 03561/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; Virginia ; 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
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• Volume:
  113
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028149
• Contact Point Address:
  X. Huang, Department of Environmental Medicine and NYU Cancer Institute, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Ave., PHL Room 802, New York, NY 10016
• Email:
  xihuang@env.med.nyu.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ferric sulfate (CAS RN 10028-22-5) ; Iron (CAS RN 7439-89-6) ; Pyrite (CAS RN 1309-36-0) ; Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7) ; Sulfuric acid (CAS RN 7664-93-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  New York University Medical Center, New York, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c742cbc01f85298a09821a358b713e44d110aa78d7154c8bc3cee559b3779471f504cce09daadee1e991bb8f3d9f1332f01ccbf6c4082133d254631d5ca6fba7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/31152/cdc_31152_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 569.28 KB ]