Citation

Amandus HE, Piacitelli G. Arch. Environ. Health 1987; 42(6): 374-381.

Affiliation

Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3439816

Abstract

Exposures to British Mining Research Establishment corrected respirable dust and respirable quartz at U.S. surface coal mines during 1982-1983 were evaluated from coal mine operator and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspector samples. The average respirable quartz concentration from inspector samples ranged from .34-.49 mg/m3 for drilling jobs and .18 mg/m3 for bulldozer operators. For most other surface coal mine jobs, the average respirable quartz concentration was less than .1 mg/m3, and the average respirable dust concentration was less than 2 mg/m3. The results from the analysis of quartz exposures are consistent with epidemiological results for an increased silicosis risk among drillers. It is unclear, however, whether the MSHA samples provide a representative estimate of the average annual quartz concentration for drillers. Results suggest the need for a greater number of quartz samples to be taken on strip coal miners, particularly on drillers and bulldozer operators.

Language: en