Silicosis, a debilitating and potentially deadly lung disease, develops through inhalation of excessive concentrations of respirable crystalline silica dust. In underground coal mines, continuous miner operators have a high risk of overexposure to silica, with approximately 25% of compliance dust samples exceeding the permissible exposure limit. Continuous miners often extract high-silica-conte...

background although dolomite is classified as a relatively non-toxic, nuisance dust, little information exists as to its potential to produce respiratory disorders following occupational exposure. the purpose of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the possible effects, if any, of heavy inhalation exposure to this chemical on the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, functional impairments and ...

  Background: Exposure to respirable particulate matter containing silica in the working environment can lead to respiratory diseases and other health hazards. The current study was designed to estimate the prevalence of lung diseases and their determining factors in the stone carvers of Kerman, Iran.   Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which 67 male worker...

When the working environment in a small cadmium-pigment manufacturing plant was investigated cadmium concentrations in respirable dust were found to be considerably above the hygiene standard recommended by the British Occupational Hygiene Society. Cadmium concentrations in blood and urine of exposed workers, both present and past employees, were determined. The six men who had worked in the pr...

OBJECTIVES The study attempts to define biological indicators of aluminium uptake and excretion in workers exposed to airborne aluminium compounds in a primary aluminium smelter. Also, this study defines the total and respirable aluminium dust fractions in two different potrooms, and correlates their concentrations with biological indicators in this group of workers. METHODS Air was sampled a...

BACKGROUND Individuals engaged in work in intensive animal houses experience some of the highest rates of occupationally related respiratory symptoms. Organic dust and in particular endotoxin has been most closely associated with respiratory symptoms and lung function changes in workers. It has previously been shown that for intensive poultry operations, type of poultry housing [cage-housed (CH...

Background & Aims of the Study: Respiratory diseases are considered as the most important occupational diseases and the absence in the workplaces. Workers in the tile and ceramic industries are exposed to high concentrations of dusts. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the pulmonary reactions and pulmonary function tests associated with exposure to dust among workers ...

OBJECTIVES To quantify personal time-weighted average respirable dust and quartz exposure on a sandy, a sandy loam, and a clay soil farm in the Free State and North West provinces of South Africa and to ascertain whether soil type is a determinant of exposure to respirable quartz. METHODS Three farms, located in the Free State and North West provinces of South Africa, had their soil type conf...

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial hygienists (ACGIH) lowered the threshold limit value (TLV) for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure from 0.05 to 0.025 mg m(-3) in 2006. For a working environment with an airborne dust concentration near this lowered TLV, the sample collected with current standard respirable aerosol samplers might not provide enough RCS for quantitative...

The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of a filtered air delivery system to reduce respirable dust exposure of roof bolter operators in underground coal mines. When performing roof bolting operations, roof bolter operators may experience exposure to high levels of respirable dust during a working shift, especially ...