OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess personal exposure to fibres, crystalline silica, silicon carbide (SiC) and sulphur dioxide in the Norwegian SiC industry. METHODS Approximately 720 fibre samples, 720 respirable dust samples and 1400 total dust samples were collected from randomly chosen workers from the furnace, processing and maintenance departments in all three Norwegian SiC p...

background: this cross sectional study was carried out to determine the relationship between metal dust exposure and respiratory health in male steel workers in terengganu, malaysia. methods: subjects were interviewed using a structured questionnaire from british medical research council (bmrc) questionnaire regarding respiratory symptoms and were examined their lung function using spirometer. ...

Accurate measurement of workplace respirable dust concentration is an essential step in eliminating lung disease in any occupational setting. In the United States (U.S.) coal mining industry, this measurement process has relied upon a personal sampler that includes a 10 mm Dorr-Oliver (DO) nylon cyclone operated at a flow rate of 2.0 L min-1 to collect a respirable dust sample. Dust concentrati...

ROBERT A. HANEY Mine Safety and Health Administration, Pittsburgh Health Technology Center The effectiveness of these dust control techniques has been evaluated primarily through the use of instantaneous dust measurements. These instantaneous dust measurements give a relative indication of whether dust control and -------------------~ employee exposure improve or deteriorate. Because the instan...

BACKGROUND Epidemiological evaluations of the risk of silicosis in relation to exposure to crystalline silica have raised the question of whether different types of silica dust exposures vary with respect to their ability to cause silicosis. The aim of this study is to compare the risk of silicosis among cohorts of silica dust-exposed Chinese tin miners, tungsten miners, and pottery workers and...

The effect of a single intratracheal dose of respirable paprika (Hungarian) dust, paprika dust extract, and cellulose dust on the lungs of rats was examined sequentially one and three months after a treatment. Treatment with respirable paprika and cellulose dusts resulted in alveobronchiolitis at the end of the first month and fibrotic changes at the end of the third month. As the extract of pa...

Since 1982 standard calibration materials recommended for respirable crystalline silica analysis by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) P7 Infrared Method and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) X-ray Diffraction (XRD) Analytical Method 7500 have undergone minor changes in size distribution. However, a critical assumption has been made that the crystal...

The performances of five portable direct-reading dust monitors were investigated in a wind tunnel for a range of industrial dusts and three sizes of aluminium oxide test dust to mainly determine their suitability for measuring the inhalable fraction of airborne dust in workplaces. The instruments tested were Split 2 (SKC Ltd), Sidepak (TSI Inc.), Dataram (Thermo Electron Ltd), PDS-2 (Sibata Sci...

Mechanised production of peat for fuel consumption is associated with high concentrations of organic dust, which is inhaled by the peat workers. In the present study 17 workers at two peat bogs in northern Sweden were examined. Personal sampling of total dust and the respirable fraction was performed during several workshifts. Dynamic spirometry was carried out before and at the end of shifts. ...

RATIONALE Previous studies have shown associations between dust exposure or lung burden and emphysema in coal miners, although the separate contributions of various predictors have not been clearly demonstrated. OBJECTIVES To quantitatively evaluate the relationship between cumulative exposure to respirable coal mine dust, cigarette smoking, and other factors on emphysema severity. METHODS ...