Authors
Antão-VC; Petsonk-EL; Attfield-MD
Source
MMWR 2006 Aug; 55(33):909-913
Abstract
This report describes 11 newly identified cases of advanced coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), including progressive massive fibrosis (PMF), in working coal miners from Lee and Wise counties in southwestern Virginia. PMF is a disabling and potentially fatal form of CWP, an occupational lung disease caused by the inhalation of coal mine dust. The continuing occurrence of advanced forms of CWP emphasizes the importance of comprehensive measures to control coal mine dust effectively and reduce the potential for inhalation exposures in coal mining. The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 mandated dust limits in the mining environment to protect the respiratory health of coal miners and created a health surveillance program for underground miners subsequently administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). After dust levels were lowered, data from the surveillance program documented reductions in the prevalence of CWP among active coal miners. Nonetheless, during 1996-2002, clusters of rapidly progressive CWP were identified among miners in certain areas of the United States, predominantly in eastern Kentucky and western Virginia.
Keywords
Coal-miners; Coal-mining; Coal-workers-pneumoconiosis; Region-3; Respiratory-system-disorders; Surveillance-programs; Fibrosis; Coal-dust; Occupational-diseases; Occupational-exposure; Lung-disease; Lung-fibrosis; Radiographic-analysis; Exposure-limits; Age-groups; Medical-examinations; Spirometry; Respirable-dust
Document Type
Journal Article
Source Name
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report