Pneumoconiosis and silicosis are lung diseases caused by the inhalation and deposition of mineral dust in the lungs. In coal mining, overexposure to respirable coal mine dust can lead to coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP), commonly referred to as “Black Lung Disease”. In the United States, CWP causes tremendous human suffering and financial costs. American statistics show that there is an increasing development of CWP in the U.S. In the light of the ongoing severity of this lung disease in the U.S., organizational and technical measures of dust control , which are well-proven in the German coal mining industry for many decades, are discussed. The described measures lead to the conclusion that they are extremely effective since there are almost no new cases of silicosis in German underground coal mining.
展开▼
