Quartz (α-quartz), is the most common crystalline silica polymorph in nature and is the only polymorph found in significant concentrations in coal and coal ash. Since exposure to quartz is liable to cause lung diseases, it is very important to know its concentrations in coal ash and to evaluate its effects on the workers. Inhalation is the most effective route of entry for airborne particles of...

OBJECTIVES To better understand the relations between occupational exposure, blood antioxidant enzyme activities, total plasma antioxidant concentration, and the severity of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP). METHODS Blood samples were obtained from miners without CWP exposed to low dust concentrations for > or = 4 years at the time of the study (n = 105), or exposed to high dust concentrati...

At a conference on coal-workers' pneumoconiosis called in Cardiff in January 1947 by the Minister of Fuel and Power, it was suggested that it might be possible to re-employ men certified as cases of coal-worker's pneumoconiosis in the briquetting industry, in which the Minister anticipated an expansion. The Industrial Pulmonary Disease Committee of the Medical Research Council subsequently disc...

Outbursts of gas and rocks are one of the serious hazards, occurring in the underground mining. There were numerous examples of the large catastrophes in mines, caused by this phenomenon, with a lot of casualties among miners. According to Hargraves [2], the outburst is a sudden release of gas and coal from the freshly exposed coal face during exploitation of the seams or during driving accessi...

Standard procedure for dispersing natural soils for particle size fractionation can be too aggressive for soil containing coal and other organic particles from coal industries. We have investigated ultrasonic dispersion for the latter in four soils differing in pedogenesis (Phaeozem, Podzol, reclaimed mine soils), carbon content (27.5±138.6 g kg), clay content (80±153 g kg) and sources of parti...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate by computed tomographic scanning the paranasal mucosal changes of coal workers with and without pneumoconiosis. METHODS Examination of images and scores from paranasal computed tomographic scans. The study participants were 26 coal workers with pneumoconiosis, 29 coal workers without pneumoconiosis, and 20 controls. All were men. The extent and patterns of inflammatory p...

BACKGROUND Miners inhaling respirable coal dust (CD) frequently develop coal workers' pneumoconiosis, a dust-associated pneumoconiosis characterized by lung inflammation and variable fibrosis. Many coal miners are also exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) components of diesel engine exhaust and cigarette smoke, which may contribute to lung disease in these workers. Recently, apoptos...

Standardized estimates of fugitive emissions resulting from bulk materials handling are subject to many potential uncertainties based on the material of interest, the specifics of operational handling, and local geography and meteorology. In 2011 EPRI undertook the first of 3 phases of a field monitoring study at a power plant that investigated fugitive emissions of PM2.5 and PM10-2.5 (“PMc” fo...