| ACGIH® | American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists |
| AOEC | Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics |
| BLS | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| BoC | Bureau of the Census |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CI | confidence interval |
| CIC | Census Industry Code |
| COC | Census Occupation Code |
| COPD | chronic obstructive pulmonary disease |
| CWP | coal workers’ pneumoconiosis |
| CWXSP | Coal Workers’ X-ray Surveillance Program |
| CXR | chest x-ray |
| DFR | Doctor’s First Report |
| DHHS | Department of Health and Human Services |
| DOL | Department of Labor |
| DRDS | Division of Respiratory Disease Studies |
| f/cc | fibers per cubic centimeter |
| FEV1 | forced expiratory volume in one second |
| GM | geometric mean |
| HCFA | Health Care Financing Administration |
| ICD | International Classification of Diseases |
| ILO | International Labour Office |
| IMIS | Integrated Management Information System |
| LCL | lower confidence limit |
| MQC | minimum quantifiable concentration |
| µg/m3 | micrograms per cubic meter |
| mg/m3 | milligrams per cubic meter |
| MMWR | Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |
| MNMD | metal/nonmetal mine data |
| mppcf | millions of particles per cubic foot |
| MRE | Mining Research Establishment |
| MSHA | Mine Safety and Health Administration |
| NCHS | National Center for Health Statistics |
| n.e.c. | not elsewhere classified |
| NHANES | National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
| NHDS | National Hospital Discharge Survey |
| NIOSH | National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |
| n.o.s. | not otherwise specified |
| OA | occupational asthma |
| OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
| PEFR | peak expiratory flow rate |
| PEL | permissible exposure limit |
| PHS | Public Health Service |
| PMF | progressive massive fibrosis |
| PMR | proportionate mortality ratio |
| PPD | purified protein derivative |
| REL | NIOSH recommended exposure limit |
| RADS | reactive airways dysfunction syndrome |
| SIC | Standard Industrial Classification |
| SSA | Social Security Administration |
| SENSOR | Sentinel Event Notification Systems for Occupational Risks |
| SOP | standard operating procedure |
| SUDAAN® | Survey Data Analysis (software) |
| TLV® | Threshold Limit Value |
| TWA | time-weighted average |
| UCL | upper confidence limit |
| WOHL | Wisconsin Occupational Health Laboratory |
| WoRLD | Work-Related Lung Disease |
| WRA | work-related asthma |
| YPLL | years of potential life lost |
