Coal Mine Dust Exposure and Associated Health Outcomes: A Review of Information Published Since 1995. Current Intelligence Bulletin 64

摘要

Information relating to occupational pulmonary disease morbidity and mortality of coal miners available up to 1995 was reviewed in the NIOSH publication: Criteria for a Recommended Standard-Occupational Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust, or Coal Criteria Document (CCD). This led to the following principal conclusions concerning health effects associated with coal mining: (1) Exposure to coal mine dust causes various pulmonary diseases, including coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). (2) Coal miners are also exposed to crystalline silica dust, which causes silicosis, COPD, and other diseases. (3) These lung diseases can bring about impairment, disability and premature death. This Current Intelligence Bulletin updates the previously published review with respect to findings relevant to the health of U.S. coal miners published since 1995. The main conclusions are: (1) After a long period of declining CWP prevalence, recent surveillance data indicate that the prevalence is rising. (2) Coal miners are developing severe CWP at relatively young ages (