The Relationship of Total Dust, Free Silica, and Trace Metal Concentrations to the Occupational Respiratory Disease of Bituminous Coal Miners

Abstract

The final report of the long-range study of lung tissue from deceased bituminous coal miners from Raleigh County, West Virginia, conducted by the Cincinnati Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is presented. A follow-up study of 19 miners and 15 female residents of the representative mining communities, as controls, is also presented. The tissues were analyzed for total dust, coal, free silica, ten trace elements, and hydroxyproline. Data from 64 cases reported earlier were pooled with this information for statistical studies. The following factors were considered: duration of mining experience, period from retirement to death, severity of respiratory disease, and levels of dust exposure (by job classification). Smoking history was not included, since the number of nonsmokers in the sample was statistically not significant.